HISTORY OF LIMESTONE COUNTY, ALABAMA es
sent to Huntsville jail to await the future action of the committee, %
The war news was not exciting this week.
“May 26 — Sunday. They hung one negro of Mrs. Rice’s
slaves in Mooresville yesterday. A jury of twelve men, selected by
his overseer, were allowed to hear the evidence against him, and
afterwards, bring in their verdict — it being the desire of the
citizens to preserve the spirit of the law at all ev nts, although it
may be necessary in these exciting and dangerous times to over-
ride the letter thereof.
“May 27 — Monday. Our committee renewed its labors again
today and we had a very exciting session owing to the fact that
Dr. John Pickett had run off Peter Mudd, one of the ring leaders
in the conspiracy. We sent our committeemen after the fugitive
and were informed by telegraph that the police had secured him in
Memphis. fl
“May 28 — Tuesday. Our committee today visited the planta- | :
tion of Mr. Sam Moore. On yesterday, Andrew Green, one of the
instigators and leaders of the conspiracy, was hung at Triana. He
had made a partial confession.
“May 30 — Thursday. We had an exciting time in the commit-
tee today. First, we tried a free negro, who was sentenced to the
penitentiary for life. We then tried Parson Peter Mudd. Peter was
proven to be one of the principal conspirators, but the influence of
his master’s family in: his behalf was great — however, he was found
guilty by the jury and was hung about half an hour after sundown,
“May 31 — Friday. We met the Triana committee again to-
day. Two negroes were tried but the final decision in their case was
postponed for one month. In the meantime they were to remain —
in the Huntsville jail. We also tried the case of Bob Williams—white
&
the country.
a
man. He was given until Christmas to settle up his affairs and leave"
T edislsiedkietanuieatesnunpioietesmted dh dares ne ene ee
“June 9 — Sunday. The committee seems satisfied with theirs
labors thus far and by apparent consent are doing nothing more —
about the rumored insurrection.” ae
That is the last reference in the Hundley diary to a slave ine
surrection, he undertaking to organize a regiment of soldiers in the _;
120 =
HISTORY OF LIMESTONE COUNTY, ALABAMA
Mooresville-Madison-Huntsville area to join the regular Confederate
forces. He succeeded and served the Southern cause valiantly.
The white men in Limestone County continued to patrol the
countryside on up to the end of the war and beyond, especially at
night. No serious trouble or anything like an uprising of the slaves
in Athens is known, but with half the population black, the whites
could hardly have been expected not to have been nervous about
the possibility.
Athens and Limestone County were to continue under the
heel of the invading and occupying troops for most of the remainder
of the war. Confederate forces in North Alabama, never too num-
erous or strong, served mainly in hit-and-run tactics, darting in on
Federal occupying detachments to strike them the severest blow
they could deliver, and then withdrawing.
A building that suffered heavily during the Union occupation of
Athens from 1863 until the end of the war was the Cumberland
Presbyterian Church, then on the site of the present Hendricks-
Patton firm, south across Washington Street from the L&N pas-
senger depot.
Less than a decade after the church was built in 1852 it had
fallen a victim to the ravages of the Union troops. It was finally
so vandalized that it could no longer be used as a place of worship
and the trustees sought restitution following the end of the war.
It was to take more than 40 years for the congregation to obtain
even a partial recompense for the damage done the church.
Church Damage Described
A bill was filed against the Quartermaster Department of the
Army following the end of the war, in 1865, for $5,943 for damages
to the church. This was rejected for lack of funds. It was not until
1902 that a bill was introduced in the U. S. Senate for the relief of
the church and this was not referred to the U. S. Court of Claims
until March 3, 1903. And then the claim was reduced to $3,725.
The litigation dragged on until April 19, 1909.
Among the affiants still alive in the early 1900s who testified
were some of Athens’ ablest and most respected citizens, both
black and white. They included a former telegrapher for the Con-
121
HISTORY OF LIMESTONE COUNTY, ALABAMA
of Limestone in the Town of Athens on the 4th Monday in August
next to answer the State of Alabama of a charge of assault and
' battery committed on the body of Robert Pollack, which is done
_ accordingly.”
The court then charged Pollack with the same offense, set his
bond at $200, with his securities named as Joseph Kelley and
Hollaway Maples. He was admonished to keep th peace for 12
months and was ordered to appear before the August term of Cir-
cuit Court for Limestone County where he would answer to the
offense of assault and battery on the body of John Gregory.
Two witnesses in the case involving Gregory and Pollack were
Robert David and Eli Collins, who were placed under bond of $50
each for their appearance at the August term of court. .
x
\
‘
The: County Court also set the tax rate for each year and for —
1820 it was assessed at “fifty percent on the amount of the public
(or State) tax and that the Tax Collector be hereby authorized and ~
required to collect the same.” It is not known what amout the “pub-
lic tax” referred to was.
The Alabama legislature established a militia, which was sub- ©
ject to call in event of war and, presumably, of any extreme emer-
gency. For the year 1821 it is indicated that two companies were |
organized for Limestone County. One was under Col. Dorsey, ap-
parently, and its officers were Capts. Booth, Lentz, Warford, Miller, _
Warner, Black and Lieuts. Gregory, Strange, G. Ables, Young, —
Wright, Benjamin Murrell and Henry Abernathy. Officers of the re- _ a
giment of Col. Keyes included Capts. Carroll, Lewis, Word, Walker, ae: ;
Bird, Brown, Massey and Malone, and the Lieuts. J. W. Gray, N.
vin.
B, Crane, C. Hine, W. Hargrove, J. Davis, Walker, Massey and Ir
Another duty that fell within the purview of the County Court : . :
was to confirm arrangements whereby minors served as apprentices. _
a ee
We find that such authorization was granted George Brown for
indenturing Jesse and Mansfield Wallis to learn the wagon-making
and the blacksmith’s trade.
$19 for Erecting a Gallows
Entries in the County Court record book leave the reader of
today with curiosity unassuaged as only the barest details of events. -
44
=
tes
}
HISTORY OF LIMESTONE COUNTY, ALABAMA
are given. So we can only imagine the circumstances as we read the
following: “Ordered that Levi Johnson be allowed fifty-one dollars
for guarding Anthony, a man of color, when confined in the com-
mon gaol of Limestone County and that an order issue on the
County Treasurer for the same.”
Following that is an entry allowing “James Slaughter Nineteen
dollars for erecting a gallows for the execution of Anthony, a man
of color, and other services.” And still a subsequent one ordering
that Covington Edmondson and William Askins be allowed nine dol-
lars for making a coffin for Anthony, a man of color. In all, the guard
fees for Anthony amounted to $204 while he was awaiting execu-
tion.
The County Court in the 1820s also was responsible for ap-
pointing administrators of the estates of persons who died intestate,
or leaving no will. The court appointed appraisers to evaluate the
estates of persons leaving no will and of diving the property left
among the heirs.
John Patrick was evidently a man of means, possessing some
320 acres in Limestone, or half a section of land. In addition, Patrick
left for his heirs 35 Negro slaves. The slaves were valued at well
over $8,000, the land at only around $2,000. A survey of the land
was done by James Exum, the first surveyor for Limestone County,
who, in 1819 was ordered “to furnish this court with a map of the
county designating as far as practicable from the record of this
court the roads running through this county, provided the same can
be done without any charge upon the county. If otherwise, that pre-
vious to carrying into effect said requisition, he furnish this court
with the probable expense which may attend the same.”
We have heretofore given the reasons for changing the Indian
designation of Black Creek to Limestone and this was said to have
been the result of efforts by Levi Cummings and others who so
named it because of the number of limestone bluffs along its course.
Piney Creek derived its name from the number of pine trees to be
found along its banks, Swan from the large number of swans and
geese to be found around its mouth, and Round Island from a re-
markably round island discovered at its mouth.
‘First White Child’ Title Cloudy
As best that can be found in the dim records of that early time,
45
HISTORY OF LIMESTONE COUNTY, ALABAMA
ascertain, there is no truth whatever to a story about Athens Col-
lege that got rather wide press coverage in the early 1940s. It was
to the effect that just about the time that Turchin’s troops (or
perhaps other Union soldiers) were to apply the torch to Founders
Hall at the college, the president, Madame Jane Hamilton Childs,
showed the commanding officer a letter and he immediately ordered
his troops to leave the grounds.
According to this fanciful story, the letter Madame Childs
showed the officer was signed by President Abraham Lincoln and
gave her and her school protection from any threats by the Union
army. Madame Childs was a well-born Philadelphian and was said
to be a friend of the president.
Ladies who were students at Athens College at the time, this
writer’s grandmother among them, never saw fit to tell about the
incident if, indeed, it happened at all. And surely such a dramatic
moment as that would have been imprinted indelibly in the mem-
ories of the young ladies. No one the writer ever knew or heard of
had come up with the story before it appeared in the 1940s.
The best explanation available for the story about “the college
that Lincoln saved” was a visit a Chicago editor of the Methodist-
published Christian Advocate made here at a time when the hosiery
mill operated by Athens College was in rather dire straits and the
school’s enrollment was at or near its lowest.
Kither the-editor alone; or with the cooperation of the then-pres-
ident of Athens College, cdncocted the yarn and gave it widespread
publicity. It was repudiated by scores of elder Athenians at the
time, and neither the college president nor the editor ever defended
their story. :
With the invasion of Limestone County by Union troops there
came another problem for the citizens. They were fearful of an
insurrection: of the Negro slaves, encouraged by the soldiers to
resist their masters in any way they could find. Soon after the out-
break of the war, there were organized in this county vigilance com-
mittees to ferret out any plans of rebellion that the slaves, with
any white agitators, might be hatching, and to put down firmly and
with dispatch such schemes.
From the diary of Daniel R. Hundley, while he was at Moores-
ville in 1861, we find these entries in May of that year:
118
!
HISTORY OF LIMESTONE COUNTY, ALABAMA
“May 18 — Saturday. Startling news! I have just learned that
a vigilance committee in Triana has ferreted out a most hellish in-
surrectionary plot among the slaves, and in consequence I expect
to go out patrolling tonight, a thing I never did before. I have ridden
about thirty miles today, but I do not expect to close my eyes
tonight.
“May 19 — Sunday. Returned home just after daylight. Was
going nearly all night, but owing to a change of plans only succeed-
ed in arresting one negro. We arrested him about half past two
o’clock.
“May 20 — Monday. Today I became a member of the Com-
mittee of Public Safety, to investigate into the insurrectionary move-
ments of the slaves in the neighborhood of my father’s residence.
We have punished several and the testimony elicited is very start-
ling. The whole servile population appeared to be disaffected and
the falsehoods everywhere pass current among them.
“May 21 — Tuesday. Our committee continues its labors to
date, and the developments are utterly confounding. It seems that
the negroes have concluded that Lincoln is going to free them all,
and they are everywhere making preparations to ) aid him when he
makes his appearance.
Insurrection Feared
“May 22 — Wednesday. Engaged all day in the labors of the
vigilance committee. Similar committees are being organized in
every neighborhood.
“May 23 — Thursday. So far as our investigations have now ex-
tended, we are led to believe that Peter Mudd, Andrew Green and
Nicholas Moore, slaves, and one or two free negroes, aided by
base white men, are the leaders in the proposed servile insurrection.
“May 24 — Friday. Our committee still continues to labor.
Our task today was to examine the slaves of Mrs. Rice, many of
whom had to be severly whipped and some will be hung.
“May 25 — Saturday. By invitation, members of several com-
mittees met with the Triana committee in Triana. This committee
has already hung one free negro names Jacobs and today had up
an old English abolishionist who for lack of proper evidence was
119
HISTORY OF LIMESTONE COUNTY, ALABAMA
Andes Mountains Nov. 12, 1769. Records available revealed that
the phenomonen of the falling stars had occurred with almost
. monotonous regularity in October and November since 902 A. D.,
though perhaps not on such a spectacular scale.
It is peculiar, though, that the stars that fell on Alabama and
over a large part of the eastern United States should have made
such a large impression on its people and this state. The fact that
Carl Carmer’s book by that name was followed i 1 few months by
a ballad, Stars Fell on Alabama, almost certainly fastened more
firmly on this state the connection between the meteorites and
its land and people. But seldom is there any reference or tale
passed down from generation to generation to be heard anywhere é
but in Alabama.
Half White, Half Slave
The 1840 dicennial census revealed that in Limestone County
there resided a total of 14,374 persons. The whites outnumbered
the blacks by only 622, enumerators counting 36 free colored per- | /
sons and 6,840 slaves. The whites had declined by 579 in the 10-
year interval since the 1830 census was taken while the slave popu-
lation had gained 151 in the decade.
It is interesting to note that Madison County also showed a |
decrease in the white population in the 10 years from 1830 to 1840, .
there being a decline of 1,558 whites and a loss of 712 black slaves. 4 =.
It was not at that time unusual for the white owners of slaves ©
to have the latter work for other whites when it was convenient.
Sometimes when the work was to be for an extended period there
was a misundrstanding or disagreement as to the amount to be
paid for the borrowed black, as will be attested to by records in the . : 2 i
courthouse today.
William Dewoody sued for a slave’s hire to a white neighbor —
in 1830 and it did not come up for final disposition until 1850, when 2
Dewoody was awarded an extra $119.44 for damages sustained —
by reason of the debt. In another case, John J. Clark sued Newsome —
Hunt for $140 for the use of Clark’s slave and recovered.
Allen McCargo and Reuben Crutcher hired the slave, Alfred,
from William H. Turner for two years, 1846-48. Alfred must have
62
Uda Oh Leg ham one be Re me
HISTORY OF LIMESTONE COUNTY, ALABAMA
been an uncommonly valuable slave, being an adept carpenter, and
his master asked the court to award him $500. His plea was sus-
tained by the court. In 1828, James Tucker had to pay Nelson
Robinson $600 when he failed to return a slave named Milly.
Frederick Tucker, a slave, was permitted to keep the sums he
earned by hiring out and in a few years had accumulated $700 —
enough to purchase his freedom.
In March 1840, Charles, a slave charged with murder, was -
sentenced to “be hanged at some convenient place within one mile
of the courthouse in Athens” after he was found guilty by a jury.|
yA few years later William and Simon, two slaves belonging to
W
illiam Parham, were jointly charged with murder, duly tried and
hanged.
Parham did not suffer the loss of two valuable slaves without
some compensation, however. For Reuben, valued at $500, and
Simon, held to be worth $700, Parham was paid half their ie
value, or $600, by the state.
A jury of white Limestonians found a slave named Tom not
guilty of murder in 1839, but [at the August session of- 1846 the
commissioners court directed that Arthur W. Sweany, a former
sheriff, “be allowed the sum of Twenty Dollars for the Execution of
two slaves, and that an order issue for the same on the County
Treasurer.”
Politics in Limestone County have ever been taken seriously,
though not with such startling innovations as have been practiced
in neighboring counties in the Tennessee Valley. In the presidential
election of 1840, as was common with other elections, a diarist of
the time noted “there are great rejoicings in town (Athens) tonight,
the Whigs, being victorious so far as heard from, have illuminated
the Courthouse, and their own houses. They, with the rabble, are
hallooing and whooping and firing as if an important victory had
been won over our most inveterate enemy.” The victory celebration
by the Whigs did not turn out to be premature, for William Henry
Harrison was elected president but died in less than two weeks
after assuming office the following March.
Of Roads and Revenue
The official name of the governing body of Limestone County
63
i+ Pe wETEY = os 4
288 ALABAMA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
lawful title from Har-jo to the Land Company, for Har-jo’s land. The
Land Company sold said lot of land to Mr. Thomas, and transferred to
him said certificate, with their endorsement. That was his lawful title
from the Land Company; in addition to which was also a warrantee title
from the said company to him. General Iverson, of Columbus, was act-
ing as agent for the settlers, who placed the Government Agent's certifi-
cates and the Land Company’s warrantees in his hands, who, with these
secured patents from the office at Washington. After all the Indians were
located, there still remained a large surplus of lands, for which the Cov-
ernment paid the stipulated amount of money in cash to the Indian, ac-
cording to the treaty. This surplus land became what is known as “pub-
lic land,” property of the Government, and was put into the market, at
$1.25 per acre, and was subjected to entry by any and all who would
pay the Government price, to the proper authority, at the land office in
Montgomery; and for which price, when paid, letters patent were issued
to the purchaser.
Now, to show how many Indians were swindled out of their Jands
while Messrs. Thomas and Scott were at Cusseta town, on the occasion of
Dr. McHenry’s visit there for the. purpose above mentioned. It may be
well to add here that the Indians were very careless in preserving their
certificates in fact, not appreciating their real value, often sold them for
a mere trifle while on a drunken spree, without knowing that they had
sold their land with it. Others lost them and never missed them; others
were worn out by frequent wetting and could not be ciphered out as to
what they were or ever had been, and were thrown away in disgust.
Their hunting shirts soon made them illegible by constant wear and fre-
quent wetting, and the poor savage was often astonished to see his certifi-
cate melt away like a piece of dirty ice. It is supposed that more than half
of the Creek Indians had thus lost or disposed of their certificates before
the Agent came round. Here was a splendid opening for a splendid
speculation. And the opening was soon discovered and the speculators
walked in. I will take John Williams as an illustration and an average
sample. This John Williams forms the acquaintance of a Creek Indian,
who lived among the Uchees and was a total stranger among the Cus-
setas. We will call this Indian Tuk-ko Har-jo, as his proper name is not
remembered. Williams and Har-jo soon became boon companions and
formed a partnership in business, which business was to swindle the
Cussetas out of their lands. The time was rapidly approaching for them
to depart for the west, and they had not disposed their lands, and many
VOLUME FIFTEEN—1953 289
of them could not, for they had lost or sold their certificates for a trifle
and had forgotten all about it. And because the Agent could not locate
their lands and there was no proof to satisfy him in the absence of the
certificate, the Agent could not ratify a trade without testimony under
oath as a witness to prove that such a section belonged to such and such
an Indian. In many instances there was neither certificate or witness to
prove a location. In such cases, the Agent was compelled to take the In-
dian’s word under oath, or what could, under the circumstances, answer
for an oath. Under such oaths and with such witnesses, the Agent rati-
fied any sale that came before him. It was the privilege of the natives to
remain on their locations and become civilized if they so desired, but
- few, if any, chose to be satisfied and none chose to be civilized. All would
have gone peaceably to their new homes, if it had not been for these
speculators. If the speculators had assisted them in a legitimate way in
having their sales ratified in the many cases where their certificates were
lost, or sold without their knowing when, where, how, or for what they
were sold, there would not have been a drop of blood spilled. But there
was no “big money” in such a simple and foolish way, when there was
“oceans in it,” when a little bad whiskey was introduced. But to proceed:
_ Williams takes Har-jo in charge and uses him for a purpose. The
first thing, Har-jo is. dressed in citizens apparrel, with a silk hat, red-top
boots and buck gloves, and has all the appearance of a respectable native
of the Ucheetown. Williams then goes with him before the Agent, where
Har-jo claims that his location is such a half section, township and range;
and he has lost his certificate and cannot prove his location only by his
knowledge that it is such a section, township and range. This knowledge
corresponds with the Agents roll, and as there. is no one to dispute the
statement of Har-jo, there is nothing left for the Agent to do but to ratify
any trade he might make. Williams is a trader and buys Har-jo’s location,
paying him the money in the presence of the Agent and receives from
him a certificate, ratifying the trade. This is al] right according to law
as far as the agent is concerned. Now comes in a repetition of the swindle.
The worthy couple retire from the Agent's office with many thanks for
his kindness, and adjourn to the woods, or any other convenient place
for the purpose. Here there is a transfer and a transformation.—First, the
money is transferred from Har-jo’s to Williams’ pocket; next Har-jo is
transformed from a respectable native of the Uchee town, to a native from
Oswitchee town. He is dressed in hunting shirt and leggins, with a crown
of gobbler feathers on his head. He is completely metamorphosed as O-ce-
ALABAMA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
o-ho-la. The Agent has no suspicion of the disguise, and receives him in a
business way. O-ce-o-ho-la says that his: location is such a section, town-
ship and range; but he was swimming the Chattahoochee and his certifi-
cate got all wet, came all to pieces and he has only his word and his
knowledge of the number of section, township and range to prove his
location. The Agent turns to his toll, and the roll proves it, and as there
is none to dispute it, his location is recognized. Williams is on hand, buys
O-ce-o-ho-la’s claim, pays him the money for the same in the presence of
the Agent and receives his certificate, the fee is paid and they retire to
their hiding-place. A sufficient time transpires and the worthy couple
reappear the third time. But lo! what a transformation? There is no trace
of Har-jo or O-ce-o-ho-la. It is a poor vagabond, who has been on a big
hunt and his certificate got burned somewhere. His name is Cho-fe, and
his location is such a section, township and range. His knowledge of that
fact is all the proof he has. That knowledge is compared with the roll,
end corresponds; and in the absence of everything to prove or attempt
to prove the contrary, the Agent is compelled to be satisfied or be a brute.
Williams is ready to buy the claim, pays the cash, and receives a certified
certificate as before, and they retire. In this way these worthies transacted
their “business” to all appearances, in a strictly legitimate way and the
Agent is badly sold as the legitimate owner of the land is swindled, until
Williams has bought enough land from the Indians to make him rich:
and bought it all, too, with fifty dollars!! In due time, (when it is too late)
and Williams has placed his ratified certificates in the hands of General
Iverson, who is a strict man of business and prompt, procures letters
patent from Washington, and Williams has them safe in his pocket, here
comes the real and lawful owners of the locations; and claims that he
has not sold his land, and that he has been swindled out of it. He can
prove his name and his claim by witnesses; but, poor fellow, he has lost
his certificate of location too. It is too bad. Yet, he must go! go! go! If he
does not, U. S bayonets are ready to make him go. He jis not ready to be
made and he says he won't go, until*he is paid for his land. Hence, the
war of 1836. Most or all of the Indians, went and were glad to go, who
were fairly dealt with by all contracting parties; and those who were
swindled went too, but they went at the point of the bayonet.— All these
damaging transactions were kept hid by the contracting parties until it
was too late to remedy them, or kept themselves hid after it was dis-
covered; otherwise it would have been too hot for them. The enraged In-
dians did not know any name for justice but vengeance. And of course,
they were brutes because they could not “see the point.”
VOLUME FIFTEEN—1953 287
I will turn to an earlier period and state some of the causes—if not
the chief cause of the war of 1836. Mr. Blake Thomas and Judge Alex-
ander Scott, who lived in Harris county, Ga., came out to look at the
country in the summer of 1834, and while here prospecting and locating
a suitable place for a settlement, saw, and were thoroughly made _ac-
quainted with the proceedings had between the Government Agents and
the land traders, or private speculators, who swarmed the country. By
way of illustration, I will give an instance, which is a fair sample of the
whole, with but slight variations:
In Chambers county, on Halawaka creek, Dr. McHenry was act-
ing as Government Agent and was at Cusseta town, in answer to urgent
calls from parties, to certify contracts between the Indians who had claims
according to the treaty, and those who had purchased those claims from
them. No transfer of lands, by the Indians, was valid, unless approved
by the Government Agent. He had listed appointments through the
towns, to meet the Indians at their own convenience, and remained at
each appointment a week or more, so as to give all an opportunity, as
the time for the removal was close at hand. At this late date even, there
were many Indians who refused to sell their lands to the new settlers.
There was a speculator whose name was Williams, seeing there was
money to be made, entered into an agreement with a few renegade In-
dians, to swindle a large number of their race out of their lands. It may
be well to remind the reader that, according to the treaty, every chief of
a town was entitled to a section (640 acres) of land, and every head of a
family, married or unmarried, was entitled to a half section (320 acres).
The first duty of the Government was to send a “Locating Agent”
through the country, whose duty it was to “locate” the Indians, beginning
with the chiefs, and afterwards all his people, on their respective lots.
These locations were made as much to suit the convenience of the na-
tives as possible. Where two parties contended for the same location, it
was given to another, and the contending parties were located elsewhere,
as a rule. Exceptions occurred, and the Agent settled the difference as
best he could. Johnny Har-jo was located on the west half of section 28,
township 18 and range 28, a portion of the land now owned by Mr. Blake
Thomas. Har-jo received a certificate to this fact from the Government
Agent, which certificate alone was necessary to authorize him to sell his
Jand lawfully, so that the purchaser could secure a patent for the same
from the office at Washington. Har-jo sold his location to the Columbus
Land Company, who received the Government Agents certificate for
os
the same from Har-jo with Harjo’s endorsement. This certificate was a
Mrs. Ruth B. Johnson Gir cuit Gler k
Clerk, Circuit Court ¢ $ P. O. Box 189
Tallapoosa County Courthouse a th Judicial Circuit fie: ae ed City, AL 35010
Dadeville, Alabama 36853 Tallapoosa County, Alabama (205) 234-4361
DADEVILLE, AL 36853
(205) 825-9231
July 26, 1979
Mr. Watt Espy
Law Library
Box 6205
University, Alabama . 35486.
. Dear Mr. Espy:
-In reply to your letter of July 24th., 1979 concerning capital
“punishment in Tallapoosa County. All of the old records in this
county are kept in the vault in the basement. If you would like to
-!come and check them we will be happy for you to do so,
. oer -eYou- might contact .Mr-’H. Clay Pless:who,.I.believe, is a member
‘«. of the Historical Saciety. West Street, Dadeville, Alabama. At one
time he was the editor of the Dadeville Record.
m
Sincerely yours, .
‘Ruth Johnsor Circuit Clerk
TALLAPOOSEE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Inc.
Post Office Box 35
Dadeville, Alabama 36853
September 20, 1979
Watt Espy, Law Library
University, Alabama
Near Sir:
sorry I am so late in completing the research
in regard to your letter of July 30, 1979. I have had a
rather heavy load this summer and could not get to yopr
request any sooner,
Since the Circuit Clerk did not supply the
information you needed, but suggested you contact me, I
did not contact that office for research. Instead I
went to the bound volumes of the Dadeville newspapers in
the courthouse, ;
Enclosed are copies of the articles I found
in the files concerning hanging in Tallapoosa County. The
editor did not report the results of the trials, at least
I failed to find any such record, But the news stories
tell all the facts. I found at least two people who were
able to verify the hangings but could not give dates and
other information,
The hanging of Morris was the last of such legal
executions in the county, as far as I can find. The two.
just before his are the only other ones I was able to find,
Hope this will at least help you find a starting
place for your investigation,
Sincerely,
/y
H. ody Pless, President
Tallapoosee Historical Society
TALLATEGA COUNTY, ALABAMA.
102 Porter Urive
Talladega, Ala. 35160
August 13, 1974
Thank you for your letter of sueusk July 5. I have
looked into the matter of legal executions in Talladega
County before 1927, but I was very disappointed not to be
able to find any records at the courthouse. Information
could probably be obtained from looking through old
newspapers, butI don't have time for that. However I have
found out a few things from the recollections of oldtimers,
Re Dear “Mr. Espy:
The first man to be executed in the county was an Indian
accused of murdering a white man in the 1830's. He was
summarily hung on the edge of town and buried in the old
Indian cemetery (now a car repair place) which isx he is
said to haunt.
\
Mee the county was established, hangings took place
at the old county jail, now demolished, across the street
from the new city hall. They were public, presumably for |
the deterrant effect.
The last man:to be hung in the county was Gordon
Fincher, 23 or 24, white, from Lincoln. ‘his took place
around 1924 or 1925. He was found guilty of raping and
x3 murdering a 17 or 1S-year-old farm girl named Maybelle
So
MeCullar, then stuffing the body into a stump hole.
Fincher admitted hiding the body, but kept kmxwa
insisting he was innocent of the murder, and there was
speculation that he was shielding his father.
The execution was carried out by Sherkrff Ceorge burke
who later took to drink -- some say because the execution
was such an ordeal for him (Fincher stood up on a keg and
made a last speech proclaiming his innocence) but others
say he had lots of other problems,
I would appreciate it if sometime you could send me
some biographical information -- how old you are, your
occupation, etc. Also, have you broken down the executions
ein ‘Jabama by race?
<—)
iS aes ‘Ath best wishes for good luck in your endeavor.
~
Sincerely yours, ,
Christina Diebold
presented and the criminal was set free much to the
disappointment of the immense crowd assembled to witness
the hanging.
Tt is said that in 1850 a new era for Columbiana began
to dawn. There was a stage line connecting Columbiana with
Montevalla and other places, operated by Ephraim Reinhart.
The tavern, where the White House now stands, was kept, and
had been for many years by David Owen. When the stage
coach, drawn by four large horses reached the top of the
hill above the residence of Mrs. German, the driver would
make known his approach by toots of the horn indicating the
number of passengers to be entertained.
The stage line was superseded by the railroad in i855
and the old stage coach was used for a long time as a hack
to carry passengers from the depot to the tavern.
The above was copied from THE SHELBY COUNTY REPORTER’ s
March 24, 1927 issue.
the E (vty ae
fpril 3, 1983,
Mrs» Morris Ferguson, Librarian,
Hale County Library,
Route TwO, Box 635,
Greensboro, Alabama 367i.
Lear Mrs, Ferguson:
I enjoyed visiting with you on Friday ana appreciated your efforts to help me to locate
some information for our Capital Punisiment “esearch Project in your local history
collection,
Presently we show the following confirritions of executions for ale Countys
Hanging Electrocution
Frank Skelton, Sept, 7, 1883; 2oh Tatmany Nece 30, 19273
Bill Scatt, Febe 25, 1898; Richard Ashey Jan, 15, 19323
Doss Taylor, Nove 15, 1907; Td Thomas, Mar. 1, 1925
Ed Howard, Feb. hy, 19103 and Joseph Frazier, June 9, 19393
Joe McDaniel, June 16, 1910. Ed Lucky Patton, July 20, 195;
Hrnest Johnson, Jane 25, 1963
“ichard Grown, Feb. 1, 1963 and
Fred Hicks, May 2h, 196.
“everal of these cases were undoubtedly very well known at the time that they hanpendd,
for instance, Howard and McDaniel who were hanged in 1910 there in Greensboro were
convicted of the robberyemurder of former Hale County Sheriff 2 \, Drakes Patton,
hingérocuted in 19:5, a tenant farmer, shot and killed his lan“lord, James C, Findlay
and another planter, John Parker, nevr Moundsvilles while Johnson and 2rown killed
and robbed their farmereemployer, Jack Te. Walton, All of those that we have cone
firmed as being executed in Hale County were blacks. 'e also know that another
black man, Tom Simon, was under sentence to be hanged there on June 13, 1913, but
we have been unable to obtain a confirmation of this execution,g “hen T went to the
Court House on Friday, the newspapers for 1913 had not been returned from the Dee
partment of Archives and History in Montgomery and time did not permit me to stop
by the nBbwsPNper office to check their copies for thet year, If you can find out
anything about this case or anything additional on any of the others mention above,
I would appreciate your letting me know, I am particularly interested in more infore
mation on the case of Howard and McDaniel who were executed for the Drake murder,
In order that you might better understand our project, t am enclosing copies of a
couple of recently published newspaper articles and I would like to extend an invie
tation to you to drop by and look o-er the project yourself should you be over in
Tuscaloosae I am also enclosing a copy of my article "Capital Punishment and De=#
terrence: What the Statistice Cannot Show," from the October, 19£0, issue of CRIMF
AND DELINQUENCY which I thought that you mizht like to have for your collection,
With best wishes, I am,
Sincerely, ;
ALF / ate aa
fs f it 7 f NG ae Q/ at /
/ JL Ne” ae if 7 /
‘ Vatt Esny Se | in
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, RESEARCH PROJECT
*%
ey
4
+e
Me,en's
Bo. as piney “By
<
* *
P
7
sy
‘
2,
>
#5
#9
;
f
\
\
JACKSON CO
HISTORY
SO Fac:
a |
INTY
I
|
i
“tne em- mepete aoereeraee
dii
| ]
i |
i il,
|
dil. BY dj
JOHN ROBERT KENNAMER
COPYRIGHT 1935 kK 3
PRESS OF
SOUTHERN PRINTING AND PUBLISHING Co.
WINCHESTER, TENNESSEE
|
dil
*WVUVIV *ZINNOO NoswOVe
Se
/ the state which declares that “a |
~~ sheriff, shall be elected in each coun |
“ ty by the qualified electors thereof,
the Sate OF Alabama in I819.
All indications are that the frm)
-"vere the same as when aif y
was a part of the ‘Mississigpi ter- |
ritory and the terms of the i@e
at that time were-perhaps fdr tw
years, and the incumbent was
gible to succeed himself, conti
through the territorial perio
iv
for some time after the stafe Late
admitted. to the union, and until .
the constitution of 1865, which de-
wlares “a sheriff shall be elected
dn each county by, the-qualified ele |
ciors thereof, who shall hold *his
office for a term of three -years, :
unless sooner removed, and shall
not be eligible to serve, either as |
@ principal or deputy, for any 4 two |
successive terms.”
This law of a three year term
for sheriffs remained the same un-
4il it was changed by the consti-
tution of the state in 1875, which
says that: “a ‘sheriff shall be ele-
cted in each county, by tha quali-
fied electors thereof, who shall
hold his office for a term of four |
years, unless sooner removed, and
shall be ineligible to such office as
—his own successor.” This four year
term for the office of sheriff did
not go into effect until 1880.
In 1901, a new constitution was
adopted by the qualified voters of
who shall hold office for a term of
four years, unless sooner removed, |
and he shall be ineligible to such
office as his own successor; provid- |
el that the terms of all sheriffs ex- |
piring in the year 1904 are hereby |
extended until the time of the ex- |
Ppiration of the terms of the other |
executive officers of this state in|
the year 1907, unless sooner re-
moved.
There has been no time in the
history of the state but that sher-
iffs were subject to impeachment
and removal from office, but the
constitution of 1901, goes further
than any other in that it says that
“whenever any prisoner is taken
from jail, of from the custody of
any sheriff or his deputy, and put
to death, or suffers grevious bod-
ily harm, owing to the neglect, con
nivance, cowardice or other grave
faults of the sheriff, such sheriff
may be impeached.”
“If the sheriff be SeIpen chee and
thereupon convicted, he shall not
be eligible to hold any office in this
State during the time for ‘which
he Imd been elected or appointed
to serve as sheriff.”
The constitution of 1901, extend-
ing the
time for the election
ali sien in the state, to the time
of the expiration of tie terms of
the other executive officers, added
‘ FG Io fg is
two more years to_th the term of W.
Epa shit at that
ie oom the office until
LO
mht moft grewsome duties
Cord eriffs of/fe ee county in the
to ‘perform,
criminals sen-
penalty. This
unpleasant duty has been taken
oe
‘away from the sheriffs and hang-
ing has been replaced by the elec-
tric chair, and the warden of Kil
by Prison has become the execu-
tioner. This law was passed by act
of the legislature approved Sept-
ember 29, 1923, but did not £0 |
into effect until 1927. -
Capital Punishment
While Fayette county was or-
ganized more than one ~ hundred |
years ago, there has never been a |
native citizen of the county put to
death for any of the crimes that
carry the death penalty. In the
year 1860, one William Kirby was
hanged for the murder of his fa-
ther, Archable Kirby; he had also
killed his brother, but was tried,
convicted and hanged for the mur-
der of his father.
The crime for which Kirby paid
the death penalty occured in Pick-
ens County and was ‘brought to
Fayette County on a change of
venue. He was indicted at the
-Ispring term of the circuit court of
that ‘county on the 29th day of
April, 1859. The Hon. Porter King
was the presiding judge at the
time Kirby was indicted. Jamies
Kilpatrick was clerk of the court
and Benjamin West was sheriff.
The grand jurors who returned the
indictment were J. M. Curry, Jos-
eph Green, William P. Richardson,
Joseph Beam, John Hughes, Henry
Lion, Harrison C. Lawley, Jessie
H. Jay, James Chalmers, Andrew
J. Richardson, Bruny Miller, Wes-
ley Bear, Josiah Harper, Caswell
Martin, John S. Banns and James
Chamless.
Kirby was tried on a change of
venue from Pickens County to the
circuit court of Fayette County on
the 16th day of April 1860, he was
tried on the i9th day of the same
month with the following Fayette
County men serving as trial jur-
ors: William B. Jeffries, Silvester
Baker, Owens Wood, James M.
Taylor, John Walden, Maston Fow
ler, F. O. Davis, James M. Mont-
gomery, Thomas Willingham, Leu-
ellen Yerby, Mose Sykes and Jas.
Collins. Arty A. Summers) was
clerk of the court at that time and
:James H. Harton was sheriff,
The verdict of the jury was guil-
ty and the death penalty imposed.
Hie was sentenced to be hanged on
June 15th, 1960,
and as no appeal
iwas taken.the sentence was exe-
jcuted on that date by James H.
‘Harton, sheriff of Fayette County.
i Hangings in those days were pub-
‘lie and the gallows on which Kir-
‘by paid the penalty for his crime,
‘was erected in the hollow a little
.distance west from the court house
‘as it stood in the town of Fayette
‘Court House, and in what is -call-
jed. at.this time old town, just to
‘the right of the old vernon road.
This particular place was selected
among other reasons so the people
could occupy the slopes of the hills
to get a better view of the execu-
tion.
The Second Hanging
The second hanging in Fayette
County occred sixty-five years af-
ter the. first, when in 1925, a negro
laborer, Harry Mack, who was not
1a citizen of Fayette County, while
‘working .on the state highway be-
ling built from Fayette to Tusca-
|loosa, committed rape on a white .
| oi rl near Stough on the Southern
‘Railroad; he was caught with the
‘blood hounds of S. F. ear nagie
‘short time after the assault.
was indicted at a special term a
the circuit court of bie ette Coun- |
ty, held on July 13, 1925, by the:
following grand jurors: John T.
‘Rasberry as foreman, together
with Marvin W. Legg, Archie Ren-|
fro, James B. Griffin, W. Thomas |
Dodson, Ecton Killingsworth, Ri
Lee Benton, Tollie L. Hayes, Will
P. Holliman, Will Cook, Pleas
Lucas, Fenton Shirley, W. Arlan- .
do Shepherd, John L. Suggs, Olin
‘Campbell, Kelly Williamson, Will-
iam H. Key and E. Thomas Ab-
|bott. ae
He was also tried at a special
term of the circuit court of Fay-
ette County on July 13, 1925; the
jury. trying the case was B. E,
Jones, forenian,- Jas. M. Sanders,
Henry C. Randolph, Tom J. Black,
Felix M. Trim, William M. Mob-
ley, W. Arthur Vernon, W. Melton
Maddox, Belton Collins, W. Luther
Jones. L. Don Watkins and’ Wil-
lie Gilpin. The circuit court judge
presiding at the trial was Ernest
Lacy, solicitor B. G. Wilson, sher-
T. Chambless and A. B. Cor-
bett, circuit clerk,
Mack was hanged on a gallows in
closed by a twelve foot wall near
the court house.
The law had been changed be-
tween the two hangings in Fayette
County requiring executions by
hangings to be private. Sheriff J.
T. Chambless sprung the trap that
sent the criminal to an untimely
death about 9 am. on August 21,
LISS,
iff, J<
Q
,
:
.
,
&
\
‘
:
*
hy
Ww
(t *4) 696T-TT-g “Ivy fuBUugeq *RAIDVE
Execution could be first
from county since 1927
By FERRIS MERKLE
Eagle Staff Writer -
-
If Herbert Lee Richardson is ex-
ecuted next Thursday night, he will
be the first person from Houston
County to die in the electric chair
since 1927, officials believe.
Fred Watson of Dothan, who has
written several books on Wiregrass
history, said Virgil Murphy was ex-
ecuted in 1927 for the murder of his
wife.
Watson said Murphy, who lived
between Webb and Kinsey, came to
Dothan, bought whiskey, got drunk
and apparently committed the
murder while intoxicated.
‘‘He was one of the first people to
be electrocuted in Alabama.”
Before electrocution became the
method of execution in Alabama,
prisoners getting the death
sentence were hanged.
Watson said Bob Jones, a well-
known evangelist, preached Mur-
phy’s funeral in Pinckard. More
than 8,000 people attended, Watson
said.
_ Houston County becamea county
in 1903. Before that it was part of
Henry County.
Watson said to his knowledge no
one from this county has been ex-
ecuted since 1927.
Houston County officials
associated with the court system
here say they are sure no one from
the county has gone to the electric
chair in the last 40 years.
‘ALNN0O NOLSNOH
*VWVEVIY
VOLUME FIFTEEN—1953 201
The year 1835 was a stirring year in the court annals of old Russell,
and familiar names begin to appear on the records. The April term was
presided over by Judge John C. Hunter; Geo. W. Elliott, sheriff; George
D. Hartridge, solicitor, and Hartwell B. Greene, foreman of the grand
jury. The names of Isham Dorsey and Bryant S. Mangham are on the
grand jury list. Mr. Dorsey lived to be quite wealthy, and died some
twenty years ago. The most costly monument in the cemetery at Salem
marks the place of his burial. He has many descendants in Lee county,
but none, I think, bearing his name.
When but a small boy, I recollect having seen Mr. Mangham (in
1833) at my father’s house in Macon county, Ga. He had just sold his
plantation to Mr. William Hollingshed, grandfather of Dr. B. W. Wil
liams, of Opelika, preparatory to moving to Alabama, and being a near
neighbor, came over to bid my father and the family farewell. He bought
a plantation on Chewakla creek, about one mile below the Chewakla lime
works. Mr. Mangham being a liberal, generous-hearted man, met with
pecuniary reverses, and moved to Texas in 1848. His father, Mr. Wm.
Mangham, once owned the land where Opelika now stands, and his
house stood near where Dr. A. W. McCoy now lives. He lived to be
very old, dying about 1850 or ’51, and was buried at old Mt. Lebanon.
An Indian, with an alias and a long name—Josiah, alias Ich-har-se-
ne-ha, charged with a long catalogue of crimes, was found guilty of mur-
der, and sentenced to be hanged on Friday, the 15th of August, 1835.
The October term of the same year was presided over by Judge W.
C. Picket; Geo. W. Elliott, sheriff: Irby Johnson, bailiff, and Anderson
Abercrombie foreman of the grand jury. In the annals of this term is
found the name of Wesley Williams, who lived for many years in Au-
burn, being one of its most substantial men, and died there about thirty
years ago. He has descendants living in Opelika. Seaborn Jones, W. T.
Colquitt and James Campbell were admitted to practice as attorneys
and counsellors at law and solicitors in chancery.
April term of 1836 was presided over by Judge Ptolmey T .Harris;
Geo. W. Elliott, sheriff, and Geo. D. Shortridge, solicitor. Cyrus Cotton
was placed under bond of ten thousand dollars to appear and answer
the charge of the murder of Joseph Connard, alias A-cee, an Indian.
The bond was afterwards reduced to five hundred dollars. This was
the year of the Indian outbreak, and the evidences are that this term of
olen dia ntacbanbions de
leh ibn gta ns do ah pA lle. Sita anil Gilpin © Sram.
Prone
4 essa
7 Sop Ra Shik abi! ONE a ae AMS hte hed, oer ayey 8
lhe tin Si pier a ea ina AR Ne Saaeatea IE :
Nel SL aly Ra hag ale SF BE ale 2 oe
; ‘ . , . : ‘ Aa i Me
Hes Met se ey *
sage av ip tei mea nly in “tk aE, Tay tr HE
if é ae
“ ‘ a : ae es a ¥e x
. = at my PRA a A OS
ss ewes lithe ab Ae NS RA AIT A A IER AIRS 8 BEI
ALABAMA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
ber quite a thousand souls.
: At the period of his death, his children were nearly all married and
temporarily settled around him, waiting for the Indains claims to reach
a final settlement. Having settled in the country too late to entitle them
to a “draw” in the “state lottery,” according to law, and their claim_of
a hundred acres of open land being divided by the state survey, into four
lots cornering in the centre, and each lot falling to different parties in
the drawing, necessitated new arrangements by the whole family. The
widow purchased a plantation in Muscogee county, Ga., on the “Ben Mar-
shall Ferry Road” of that day and about eight miles from Columbus,
where she remained until 1833.
I will resume the history of the Little Uchee settlement, embracing
a portion of the Indian troubles of 1836 and Mr. A. B. Thomas’ remi-
nescences, in the next chapter.
£2 , “Uncle Blake”—Swindling the Indians—Canise of the War of 1836.
ain inaliiiiaiet sists san tie:
As before stated, the emigration of the second generation of the
Thomas family, dating from the war of American Independence, was
from Georgia to Russell county, Alabama, in 1834; all of which, except
Mr. A. B. Thomas, have either passed away or moved to other localities. |
The venerable mother of this large and respectable family, though the
widow of a Revolutionary soldier, and entitled to a pension, never re-
ceived it. She lived, loved and cherished, among her children in Russell
county until 1842, when she moved to Arkansas, where she died in peace
in 1845, at the ripe age of 85 years.
:
CHAPTER XXI I
As stated in another chapter, Mr. A. B. Thomas, the youngest son,
built his cabin on the southern bank of the Little Uchee, about eight
miles South of Salem, in 1834, and purchased 480 acres of land from a
Columbus Land Company, also paying the price for the same, demanded
by the Indian Har-jo, who occupied it at the time. There is a little inci-
dent in this period of Mr. Thomas’s history worthy of notice.
In moving from Georgia to his new home, the road mostly traveled
fifty years ago, was what was then known as the Derrysall Trail and ap-
proached his settlement from the north side of the creek. On reaching
ALABAMA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
192
the world, and were not allowed to touch the ball, except with their bats
after the game opened. ‘These men stood at an equal distance from each
line, one to throw up the ball and the other two, with their sticks—one
from each side—to start the game, which was done at a given signal from
the officer in command, when the ball was tossed up and as it descend-
ed it was struck at by the starters, each striving to knock it towards his
then came the mighty scramble, all the while
squalling and hallooing like mad, tossing
until one or the other party
das often as agreed upon be-
s their
respective line. And
schreaching, howling, bawling,
and buffeting the ball hither and thither
got it beyond their line. This was repeate
fore the game opened, and which ever party carried the ball acros
line the oftenest were declared the victors and “raked the stakes.”
The women played with their hands instead of sticks, and retained
their attire, and would frequently lose their tempers and get very mad,
particularly when any undue familiarity was offered them while playing.
From the description given, the Indian ball-play, which was the na-
tional game with them, very much resembled the “shinny” of our school
boy days, and from which the present base ball, so much indulged in
now-a-days, doubtless originated.
Joe Marshall, a native chief, brother of Benj. Marshall, one of the = |
party that established the ferry at Fort Mitchell, was killed by one of his
own people, under a tree North of the Salem and Columbus road, and |
South of the railroad, between where Mr. Henry Gibson now lives and ;
Mr. Kaver Stroud’s steam gin. The stump of the tree may still be seen.
The place of his sepulture, like all others of his race at this day, in this
country, is unmarked and consequently unknown. His murderer, was
among the first, if not the first Indian, who was tried, found guilty, con-
demned and executed by due process of Jaw in Russell county, and was
hanged in Girard about 1834. I think, from what I can learn, from the
old settlers, that this case was the first true bill found by the Grand
Jury of the first Circuit Court, which was held in Girard, October, 1833.
True bills No. 1 and 2, are missing in the records on file in the Clerk's
office at Seale.
200 ALABAMA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
between the authorities of the two departments. The documents on file
number up to twenty-two, but all are missing except Nos. 3, 4, 15, 16,
18, 19, 20 and 22. The first civil case tried before this court, was Jona-
than Hudson vs. F. Scroggins. Plaintiff recovered $50, with interest and
costs. In the case of James Emmerson and other, this note is found:
.
“A subpoena having been issued for the said persons, who are
soldiers at Fort Mitchell, under command of Jas. J. McIntosh, and the
sheriff having proceeded to said fort, and having applied to said Mc-
Intosh for said men, the said McIntosh replied to him: ‘Tl be d—d if I
give up a man.’ Wherefore an attachment for a contempt of court be
issued against said McIntosh.”
Another case is John Townson vs. Mollie, an Indian woman. Gracy
Slate appears to have been quite an unenviable character in those days,
having been in the prisoner's dock nearly every day of the sitting of
the courts on charges for keeping a disorderly house. She was a rep
resentative from Sodom. None of those parties are supposed to be now
living. The October term of 1834 was presided over by Anderson Cren-
shaw; Geo. W. Elliott, sheriff; Anderson Abercrombie and Geo. C. Shives
were admitted attorneys and counsellors at law and solicitors in chancery.
ober
The Indians were beginning to grow troublesome, and frequently
rose to the dignity of a criminal before a court of justice this year, fig-
uring largely on the docket. The first case was, The State vs. Poo-sa-la
_an indictment for murder. Then, The State vs. Paddy Carr—same.
Then follows The State vs. Middleton Davis and David Carr, for shoot-
ing T. Hall. Poo-sa-la was found guilty of murder, and recommended
to executive clemency, but it appears that His Excellency did not enter-
tain the recommendation favorably, and Poo-sa-la was sentenced to be
hanged on the second Friday in December, 1834.
Horace King recollects the killing of Joe Marshall, and thinks that
it was done by an Indian raised by Marshall and treated kindly by him.
Judge Crenshaw’s signature indicates nervousness, and it is natural to
suppose that these bloody and lawless times were sufficient to shake the
nerves of judges who had to travel their circuits through an almost un-
broken wilderness, or inhabited only by the friends of those against
whom it was his duty to execute the vengeance of the law and maintain
its dignity.
a Pa
MADISON COUNTY, ALABAMA, . 5
aie peewee CO
AUGUST 27, 1885
Charles Townsend killed Nathan M. Freeman. HE WAS HANGED,
JULY 25, 1900
Elijah Clark, Twenty years old, raped and killed Susie Priest. HE WAS LYNCHED
after being taken from the jail and removed to the town of Dallas. The deed was
done by the mill workers in Dallas.
SEPTEMBER 7, 1904
Horace Maples killed A. E. Waldrop. He killed him after robbing him at the three
forks of the Flint River. Officer Wilson and Constable Phillips captured Waldrop
after a buggy chase down Holmes and captured him on Pulaski Pike. Judge Speak tried
the case and the District Attorney was Pettus. People came from Merrimack and Dallas
to the jail. The jail was guarded-by Company F of the local militia or national guard.
The jail was broken into by a mob and Maples jumped from the window and was caught
.by the mob who tied a plow line around his neck, took him to the south side of the
courthouse, threw the plow line over a limb, and summarily LYNCHED HIM and then shot
him. As a result of this action, the police chief, mayor, and sheriff were requested
to be impeached by the Grand Jury. However, that action was never taken and Company F
was disbanded in disgrace.
SEPTEMBER 21, 1904
Dennis Smith killed Mollie Watkins, his paramour. He was indicted by the same
grand jury which reported on the lynching of Maples. A death sentence was given to
Smith for cutting his paramour's throat from ear to ear but feelings soon cooled and
on March 8, 1905, Mr. Smith was retried and sentenced to 20 years.
pips
fm.
oe ©
January 12, 1917
David Overton, Circuit Court Clerk and City Policeman, during the lynching of
Maples, killed W. T. Lawler, Probate Judge at Whitesburg Bridge. Population of
8,000 citizens in Huntevilie at that time. After sentence, he made a sensational
escape from the Jefferson County Jail and behind Birmingham College was SHOT TO DEATH
BY A POSSE.
May 11, 1936
Walter Miller killed a 19 year old girl, Vivian Woodward, after raping her. HE WAS
EXECUTED June 19, 1936. ,
May 16, 1942
James Lester Coffee killed Dr. James E. Walker who he believed was having an affair
with his wife and had performed illegal abortions on her. He shot the doctor in
the head with a pistol. Case was reversed and on retrial was sentenced to LIFE.
_ December, 1961
WILLIAM F. BOWEN
PROSECUTOR: Tom Younger and David Thomas
William Bowen killed Janice Thomas. He worked for Homes Pest Control Company and
was a part-time circuit riding preacher. He stabbed the victim with a butcher knife
fourteen times. On January 15, 1965, he was ELECTROCUTED. LAST PERSON TO DIE IN
ALABAMA ELECTRIC CHAIR BY CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
March 2, 1967
AUDIE LEE SEAGROVES
PROSECUTOR: David L. Thomas
He killed Ethel Marie Putman, secretary at OGMS Guided Missle School. Got in
her car, forced her to drive to mountain where he raped and killed her with a pistol.
Death sentence was reversed in May, 1968 and he pleaded guilty in August, 1968, and
So ee eee ee eee
2100 Buclid Ave.,
Jasper, Ala. 35501
6 Jan.1977
Mr. Watt Espy,dr.
P.O.Box 67
Headland ,Ala. 36345
Dear Mr. Espy:
Your letter on Carnitel Punishment received.
I am not the historian of Marion Cpunty,Ala. but the pQople at the Court
House,the Library and the schools,often call on me and I do not object.
American Legion
I am the Alabama Department Historian for the past ten years and now trying
to write a Bicentennial Third Volurn of its history from 1948 through 1976.
Have heard of no report of Capital Fvnishment in Marion County,Alabama.
My ancestors first bought Chickasaw Indi an land in Marion October 6,1836.
One of my great-grand Father's was a delegate from Marion County to the
Secession Convention and was a members of the 1866-67 State Legislature
after the Civil War. Copy of my Bronze marker to his memory attached.
My Uncle became Chief Depury Sheriff about 1908. He served four terms of
four years as Sheriff and died in Office. On the years between terms he
was Chief Deputy.
The Court-house of Marion County was burned March 30,1887 destroying all
County records.
Mrs Willouise Kirkparrick Harper's great grand father Jemes Hamilton, a large
land owner at Toll Gate,Ala. c,nated 40 acres of land for the lovwation of
the Courthouse from Pikeville to Hamckickmm Tol] Gate and charge it to Hamilton,
Ala. in 1882, ee
So I have no knowledge gf actual of legend of Capital Punishment in Marion
County,Alae
Within the lest 50 or 60 years only TWO should have received it.
One robbed and killed a batchlor,then burned his house including a very
valuable coy ection of books and papers on historical subjects, to cover
for the crime.
The other killed a policeman in the streets. They both, J am told are allowed
visits back tom the County and are eyplying for paroles and pardens.
Most of the letters referred to me from Marion County are on Geneaology.
Feople from t he western states wenting information on their ancesrors who
lived and died in Marion County.
aera
PHONE
205/921-4301
WILLOUISE HARPER
REGISTER SUPERIOR COURT AND CIRCUIT COURT IN EQUITY
HAMILTON, ALABAMA 35570
P.O. BOX 501
December 30, 1976
Mr. Watt Espy, Jr.
Box 67
Headland, Al. 36345
Dear Mr. Espy:
In reply to your letter of December 9th requesting
information regarding any executions in Marion County,
I_ have inquired here in the courthouse to the present
judges, the clerks office and Mr. E. W. Branyon, who
is co-author of Early History of Marion County. No
one has any information or records of any executions.
A former judge, Hon. James E., Shotts, Sr., of Jasper,
Alabama, is Historian for Marion County. I do not
have his mailing address, but he can verify the above
Statements or give you more information.
I am sorry I cannot be of more help.
Very truly yours,
; = | }
Uterus Marpor
Mrs. Willouise Harper
M4
THE HISTORY OF
ALABAMA
VOL. |
PREHISTORY TO 1939
By
KATHERINE McKINSTRY DUNCAN
*SNOTINOWXA WIVEVIV ‘LINAOO ‘TIVHSUYW
and
LARRY JOE SMITH
THOMPSON PRINTING
ALBERTVILLE, ALA. 1969
beet baa gai
At ot re
PRESSE ILO RELA SPM
Saha es Pe ee Snge 5, ;
% —
The next jail was an old log building behind the present water works
filtering plant on Blount Street. A. B. Parris was hanged here for
killing Jim Rose.
In 1890 a brick and stone jail was constructed at 673 Blount
Street. Henry Boyd and his wife (colored) were to be hanged here
The first brick jail in Marshall County is still standing at 673 Blount Street
in Guntersville, although it is now used as a private residence.
in 1898, but they escaped. Bob Watts was hanged here in 1907 in
one of the most talked-about events in the history of Marshall County.
Watts allegedly shot Jerry Winkle, a Confederate veteran, one
night in January of 1905 when Winkle was returning home from a
neighbor’s house. Before he died, Winkle said Bob Watts shot him
to rob him of his pension money, which he had just received.
. Bob Watts surrendered and was brought to jail. There was
some talk of lynching! him, and more than one mob was formed, but
no actual attempt was ever made.
Watts said from the beginning he was innocent, and never
once changed his story. When his trial came up, however, the jury
thought otherwise. After deliberating 24-hours, they found him
guilty and sentenced him to hang. :
Judge Haralson set his execution date for July 5, 1905. While
waiting in jail for his execution date, Watts appeared to become men-
1—There is no record of a single lynching in the history of Marshall County.
38
tally unbalanced. He was transferred to a Birmingham jail, which
offered better facilities.
The governor gave Watts a reprieve to July 17, 1906, and he
was transferred to the asylum in Tuscaloosa. Marshall County sheriff
John Lewis was finally given the go ahead for the execution, and
Watts was transferred back to the county ‘jail.
Just before he was to be executed, Watts by some unknown
means had secured a knife, and threatened the life of the first one
who entered his cell. He was forced out of the cell by cotton soaked
in ammonia. Watts was dragged coughing and struggling to the scaf-
fold, but when his hands were pinioned offered no further resistance.
“Who shot Mr. Winkle?” he was asked.
“T have told you, I know nothing about it,” was his reply.
The Rev. W. B. Hope then delivered a prayer, Deputy Gibson
adjusted the noose around the condemned man’s neck and the black
cap was placed over his head. Watts shook hands with several of
the officers and bid farewell to the crowd.
On April 25, 1907 at 8:20 the drop fell and his body went
limp two minutes later.
The hanging, which was the last public execution in Marshall
County, brought a tremendous crowd to Guntersville.
In 1911 a new brick jail was built almost directly behind the
courthouse. This jail, also located on Blount Street, was used until
1950 when a modern one was built on the top floor of the remodeled
courthouse.
FIRST WHITE HOMICIDES
The first killings in the new county of Marshall happened not
long after it was formed. Foster D. Paris was killed by Samuel Fain
in 1836. It happened about a mile west of the present courthouse
when the two men met in the road and had an argument which
could not be settled with words.
Fain was tried at the old gin courthouse at Marshall. When
the jury pronounced Fain not guilty, the court then adjourned for
lunch. Paris’ sister was among the spectators and she was very angry
over the verdict. As the people filed down the narrow gin stairs, she
found herself immediately behind her brother’s killer. It was more
than she could take, so she gave him a swift kick that sent him
tumbling down the stairs to the lower portion of the gin.
The next killing came in August, 1836, during the general
election that was held on a first Monday in Claysville. Tilghman
Burns was killed by Eli R. Feemster in a case written off as self-
defense. Feemster died later in another gun battle.
39
C. Barkley, James Critcher and Louis Wyeth. Wyeth and Critcher
won in August of 1847, and got some new acts passed setting the
ground rules for the next election. Through their efforts, an act was
passed to prosecute anyone who was caught voting illegally. Another
—rrar eee
Ae Sere estar
The courthouse has been remodeled and enlarged several times. This 1898 photo
reveals an elaborate tower, which was partially destroyed several times by
storms.
important act passed by the legislature called for the incorporation of
Guntersville, including in the corporate limits the “White House”
and Gunter’s-Landing, to prevent a second edition of misapplied
votes.
Four sites were considered for the county seat: Beard’s Bluff,
Guntersville, Warrenton and Claysville. Beard’s Bluff and Clays-
ville were eliminated in the first two elections, and the struggle was
on between Guntersville and Warrenton.
The people of Warrenton said their $2,500 jail would have to
be destroyed if the county seat was moved to Guntersville, causing
a loss of county funds. Guntersville citizens countered their argu-
ment by declaring if Guntersville was chosen, they would build a
new jail free of charge to the county.
It was the biggest issue which the people had faced since the
county was organized, and one observer summed up the matter by
saying “every man, woman and weaned child did nothing but
talk of this hot issue.”
36
Warrenton made a bold attempt to sway the election. Although
they had voted to move the county seat before paying a new tax, the
Warrenton citizens declared they would build a courthouse and jail
at their own expense if their city were chosen by the voters.
A courthouse would cost at least $6,000 plus another $2,500
for the jail, but Arthur C. Beard began a speaking campaign which
convinced the citizens of Guntersville that they should raise the
money and get the county seat. The residents of Guntersville said
they would make bond for both the new courthouse and jail.
Guntersville was determined to win the election, but was short
of one important thing—votes. In 1847 Captain James M. Lee had
recruited a company of young men from Guntersville to enter the
Mexican War. These men left for home when the war was over,
and at last report had reached Selma. But unless they got to Marshall
County in time, Guntersville stood a good chance of losing the elec-
tion. .,
Every eye was strained for a glimpse of the soldiers on the Sun-
day before election day, but there were no signs. Monday was-a
bright, clear day, but the Guntersville men went gloomily to their
voting places feeling they were whipped.
Before the voting was over, however, a bugle sounded, a banner
appeared and the Mexican War veterans rode into town. They were
quickly informed of the situation, and it is reported that every single
one of them cast their ballots for Guntersville.
Whether or not the soldiers swayed the election is not known:
however Guntersville did win the election and the seat of the county
government was moved there in 1848, where it has remained ever
since.
A two-story brick courthouse was constructed in 1848 at the
site of the present courthouse, on land donated by Judge Louis Wyeth.
The original building formed the nucleus for future courthouse build.
ings, as it was enlarged and renovated down through the years. The
north end of the courthouse was partially destroyed by Yankee cannon
fire in 1862.
FIVE COUNTY JAILS AT GUNTERSVILLE
Guntersville has had five county jails. The first one was at
Gunter’s Landing. The first public hanging took place at this jail
when Jacob Keener was hanged on an open-air scaffold Nov. 1, 1867.
!—The courthouse in Albertville was erected in 1935 as a branch courthouse for the
convenience of Marshall County. citizens living on Sand Mountain.
37
Wa W Saran h
jy oy £93 lee
eter 19677.
PS one ae
he ae hey Haul I
an Core
bu Miu dag Cf PP... rat a pea Bi (£2 7 G dol hieka Les)
WA A ip s
uscpreoredted Wl Dplnuned Liv Vn FEO. ys Ge
NT rte, Were pr ree ale ng, for The
Aho (
pee) “- (Kooy ‘engl Se. upon he TA09 bn a © end Bline
oe cg heer feaalin
red tre deed |
Thay Coreen
| /
gee Sethu
' ad fave BY | Bow¢ ley
Ge as (EMS peo es - | or) hades c ae A elt
aa } i 0% ated ‘ Gere J | ates) wed) fs Wwe
card Wigdl. Bes ge
pcre t feos ( le. rat
i De arate Qe - Y iatied a
Kun ArT ci abotgen Haren,
Lercth Auk Aicé@
y fu ble rKier
3 acre Aha Tong
g40 y e! deco 4 ~agieg 4G RT Clhrxner ¢
4 wdunw, Nive Menaakens
yay pot Acat dence aA Lhe uw we |
c “
Was ; c ALY?
Loa phan f Uno CA! Ltr0 ' ue | hana A 4
a Se PoP OMELET SOMERTON EET TE
—— r - Bai a Bani. soca we eda aie o.
it ioe * ig
Gey Be es an
- Bs "Pie RRR eR SER ms Reh :
As Orr PERE Veo reared ce Alcea eae pe eich’ pe a3 LT a eT ee
aks ene MES ELH ECR, MONE S28 KOON me fee SEMA eRe mL TA Ue Fe Secs wr kee
oh: Bae a ne SS AEE A OT ERO AT ET Cy ae Me Be es et : ons
Stephen Schuessler, during a Sunday afternoon brawlin
downtown Montgomery in August 1841, stabbed James
Glover in the femoral artery. Glover died; Schuessler was
convicted of manslaughter.*? Also, in 1841, James Harkins
ruthlessly murdered aman named William Bougley. The
presiding officer at Harkins’ trial, Circuit Court Judge
Martin, remarked that “seldoin... has a case so wanton, so
reckless and wicked... been exhibited in the halls of
justice.” It seems “incredible,” Martin lectured Harkins,
“that a motive so destitute of human feeling, so fraught
with malignity, and so regardless of consequences in this
life and in eternity, could be found to exist in the human |
heart.” Not surprisingly, Judge Martin sentenced Harkins
to be hung unul he was “dead, dead."""
Throughout his trial Harkins “exhibited the recklessness
of the hardened ruffin, * but he was a changed man by the
time of his public hanging in January 1842. From the
scaffold, he warned the “immense concourse that wit-
nessed his execution” to avoid the evil ways that had led to
his doom. Furthermore, he left.a confession and a detailed
account of his crime to be published in “pamphtlett form;”
the profits from the sale of this pamphlet Harkins wanted
“applied to some charitable purpose.
Montgomerians witnessed a second public hanging 1D)
February 1842. A man named Chesley was executed for |
the murder of a waggoner named Newel. Unlike Harkins,
though. Chesley “died hardened and indifferent... with
an oath in his mouth." Phe third murderer due to be
publicly hung in Montgomery in 1842, Johnson Ham-
mock, escaped the gallows. He committed suicide in his cell
in the city jail.*®
The State v. Schuesster, 3 Ala F194: see also dlahama Journal, August 18, 1841.
48 flabama Journal, December 8, S41.
wv Thad.
*Tind., January 5, PR 42.
4° Thid., February 2, 18-42.
" Thid., April 13, 1842.
220
THE ALABAMA REVIEW
In March 1843, John S. Booth and John Edwards got
into a fight in the streets of Montgomery. Edwards frac-
tured Booth’s skull “with a large billet of green wood...
mounted his horse and escaped. 7?! At an Independence
Day barbecue the same vear, an affray broke out in which
several people and a number of pistol shots were involved.
During the fight, John Owens stabbed William Boyd witha
bowie knife and escaped on his horse. Owens himself was
killed a month later resisting arrest."
In ]847. there was an ansolved killing by stabbing. In the
same vear Asberry Martin and a man named Bugg were
indicted for murder by the circuit court" In 1848, there
was a gunfight in the Montgomery strects between a
well-known planter, P. A. Wray, and his former overseer,
named Lester. Three shots were fired, but no one was
seriously injured. 4? Phat same year another overseer, John
Thompson, was more successful. He Stabbed to death his
employer and uncle, Solomon? Thompson.*? In 1851. a
miller named Farrow killed a man named Brown by
stabbing him in the neck with a bowie knife.’
One case of assault and battery in April 1852 vividly
underscores the prevalence of weapons and the tendency
to extreme aggression. The wife of one Murrah com-
plained that a neighbor, William J. Holmes, had “used very
abusive language toward her.” Murrah grabbed his gun
and went to kill Holmes “before sundown.” On the way,
Murrah metan acquaintance, aman named Anderson and
his wife. Anderson's wife tried to get her husband to avoid
the impending fracas, but Anderson insisted that “he was
"Tbid., March 8, 1843.
* Ibid., July 5, August 9, P843.
“Tr W eekly Flag && Advertver, Mav 18, Mav 4. N47, December 7. T8438: Daily Alabama
és
Jounal, November 18, 1830.
ournal, April 26, PROT.
“Daily State Gazette, November 8, 1848: Darly Alabama ]
* Daily State Gazette, June 3. S48: Pra Weekly Flag & Advertyver, \pri
another unsolved homicide this vear. [ri-Weekly Flag & Advertyer, July 27, D848.
is Tr-Weekly Flag & Advertiser, September 15, S51.
120, PS48. Dhere was
JULY, 1974 <<
e HowLlngton
y Arthur F
iy}
Jey hao
GOM
xT
aN
id MO
ali | TrIMys
Se LLUI
myey
aniTo
tidy. Aa
3
OF Ia
y
A STUDY
a LAL DARA
“ty A opty
pe ae 8
~T :
oe L/ det dS
—-
*VNVaVIV *XINNOD AYMWODINOW
9 reat eew
not going to run away because there was going to be a fuss.”
Apparently Holmes arrived on the scene a short ime later
and was confronted by Murrah. Not seeing Anderson
Holmes, armed with his own gun and knife, said “Vou
have not Anderson and your damned clan around you
now, and I can whip you in a fair fight.” Whereupon
Anderson stepped up and threatened to cut Holmes head
off with his knife. Holmes then attempted to shoot Ander-
son, but he was close enough to seize the barrel of Holmes’
gun and raise it so that no harm came other than “slightly
burning his clothes with the powder."
Throughout the last years of the decade, Montgomery
newspapers are peppered with evidence that the resort to
personal violence remained common. In January 1855,
voung Terry McGrady came home drunk and “for some
slight cause” stabbed his grandmother to death.*" In 1857,
at the Rialto theater Robert Foster shot and killed Robert
Thompson. The next month Wesley Barrett stabbed John
Shirkey to death in a personal encounter.*” In June 1858,
some unknown person murdered Abner C, ‘Taylor in his
bed.?® .
The following year, 1859, was a signal year for violent
encounter. In January a man named McManus killed a
man named Dillard. He first shattered his skull with a
brickbat; then went home to get his pistol to finish off “the
damned old rascal"?! A man named ‘Thomas insulted
some of the “ladies connected with the theatre” and
stabbed Mr. Lovett, the stage prompter and Mr, Riden-
berger, the machinist.°? Patrick Murphy killed H ugh Keys
47 Folmes v. the State, 23 Ala 17.
4" tdvertiver and State Gazette, January 31, 1855.
#9 \fatthew P. Blue, et. al, City Doectory and History of Montgomery, 4dlabama (Montgomery,
1878), 67, 71. |
3° Idvertiver and State Gazette, July 14, 1858.
31 VfcManus v. the State, 36 Ala 286.
3? Montgomery Advertiser, February 23, 1859.
gc
229 THE ALABAMA REVIEW
4 man named Connolly was
indicted by the grand jury for the murder of one Rouse."
In 1860, the census marshalls recorded Scott Winfield, a
pauper, as being “killed by an idiot,” and E. H. Grant, a
Scottish grocer, as murdered.”
One of the facts most relevant to
iographic. A large part of the popula-
nd Montgomery County was black
and slave. As one Montgomery resident remarked, “No-
body can do in these parts without slaves.”°8 A foreign
visitor, Carlton Rogers, pointed out that “in the first-class
residences in Montgomery the yard literally [was] swarm-
ing with these human chattels; frequently a dozen or more
in sight, of both sexes, and comprising at least three
57 Indeed, throughout the late ante-bellum
population of the city itself
ole, blacks had outnum-
with a bowie knife,?? and
a study of violence in
Montgomery is den
tion of Montgomery a
generations. |
period, almost one half of the |
was black. In the county as a wh
bered whites since 1830." |
One of the main facets, then, of the society of late
ante-bellum Montgomery was the subordination and de-
racially distinct majority by an equally
Such a social system is of necessity
ames B. Sellers wrote in his
“foar breeds violence.”
gradation of a
distinctive minority.
predicated on fear, and, as |
study of slavery in Alabama,
Indeed, Sheldon Hackney, another leading student of
® Murphy v. the State, 37 Ada P42.
* Montgomery ddvertiver, February 2, 1851
3US. Bureau of the Census, kighth Census of
Assistant Marshals, Persons who Died During the Year ending Ist June,
Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama
8 Francis and Theresa Pulszky, Wail, Red. Black, Sketches of American
States, Vol. I (New York, 1853), 118.
” Quoted in Richard ©. Wade, Slavery in the
*In 1846, ina population of 3,800, there were 1.800 slaves: in 1850, 2.121 of the
Population of 4,828 were slaves. In 1860, there were 4,400 slaves Ina population ot
8.843. In the county, in 1840, blacks were 63 percent of the populauion, 65.4 percentin
1850, and 66 percent in T860. See Clanton W. Williams, “Conservatism in Old
the United States, Orygnal Returns of the
1860. Department of
Society in the United
Cites (Oxtord University Press, 196-4), 58.
Montgomery, 1817-1861," The Alabama Review (April, 1957), 98.
Sellers, Slavery, 55: sce also Stirling, Letters, 202.
99°
Juty, 1974 293
*a UNHLYV Ad
es NOLONI MOH
Ri ZWOOLNOW WNTTHE"ZLNV GLVTI 40 AGNLS V
©
*VNVEVTIV NI HONWIOIA
alte Oe bet Bay Bee ON Sh a ibd a
tls eel
a,
"
ws
dl ie ONE see Fag
rs
vg
a
*
.
FY
$
20 HISTORY.
man Williams had come to Montgomery on that day, like
hundreds of other citizens of the county, to attend the pub-
lic hiring out of slaves. Just as he approached the front
door of the Court House, then located at the present Arte-
sian Basin, Mr. Silas Goree, Constable, served on him a writ
for debt. Mr. Williams instantly drew his long dirk-knife
from his belt and plunged it into the Constable’s heart,
producing immediate death. He made his way through
the large crowd around, brandishing the knife, and pro-
ceeded in his escape until he reached the square imme-
diately west of the present Methodist Protestant Church.
Here, he was finally arrested by Col. John P. Dejarnette,
of Autauga county, who disarmed him by knocking the
knife from his hand by means of a smali walking cane.
The murderer managed to keep his case in the Courts for
nearly three years, but was eventually tried and convicted
of murder in the first degree, in the Fall Term, 1831, of the
Autauga Circuit Court, whither the cause had been carried
by a change of venue. He expiated his terrible crime on
the public gallows, Friday, January 27, 1832, on the side
of the public road east of Montgomery, near the present
residence of Mr. M. W. Garrison. This constituted the
first judicial hanging of a white person in Montgomery
county. His remains were interred on his own land, about
five miles west of Montgomery, now owned by Mr. Felix L.
Ashley. Two elm trees, one at the head and the other at
the foot of his grave, have grown toa large size, while there
are no other elms in the vicinity.
The business of Montgomery began, at an early period,
to gravitate towards Court square, in the direction of the
river. This resulted from causes that are universal in their
operation. The rich lands to the south, southwest and
west of the town had been settled and cultivated in large
quantities, and the bulk of population in the county no
longer resided towards Line Creek and Fort Jackson.
Warehouses had been opened near the river, convenient to
the steamboats. Commercial trade naturally sought closer
proximity to the steamboat transportation. Citizens, too
of the county, whose produce sought a market: here, and
who also laid in their supplies in the town, were unwilling
to go to the extreme eastern end to transact their business.
So that by the year 1830 the merchants near the Capitol
square had gone down town, and the business was concen-
trated upon Court square and the four squares fronting on
Market street below Lawrence street. Mr. Falconer, the .
a
en
LUISTORY. : Zh
Postmaster, begai to remove his Post Office building down
to Commerce street, to be more conveni-nt to the cent 2 of
population. A considerable increase lad taken plaice in
the population of Montgomery, attracted by the increase of
business resulting from a settlement of all portions of the
county and the trade drawn from surrounding counties.
At that period, it.was estimated at one thousand or twelr:
hundred. :
Three of the Christian denominations succeeded in org in-
izing Churches in Montgomery during the latter part of
1829. The Methodist Episcopals organized Septem%er 15,
with ten members. At first, they worshipped in the edifice
built for all denominations, which was relinqtished to ‘her
in 1830. Their first Church edifice was dedicated March }.
1835, by their Pastor, the Rev. H. W. Hilliard, now U. &.
Minister in Brazil. The present elegant and commodiors
edifice was dedicated March 3, 1806, by Bishup Geo. f.
Pierce. Their church lot was dunated to them in Mar,,
1832, by the ‘Alabama Company.’ Tie Presbyt rials
organized November 12th of tbe same year, with twe “e
members. On that occasion, William Sayre and Joan
Taylor were elected Elders and set apart for ordination.
The present church lot, on Adams, between Court and
Perry streets, was. purchased and an edifice erected, which
was dedicated November, 1831. The present brick edifice
was dedicated February 21, 1847. The Baptist Church was
organized November 29, 1829, by a Presbytery composed
of Elders Lee Compere and Fields Bradshaw, with only
four members. Another organization took place August
11, 1832, with nineteen members. Their first edifice was
dedicated in 1832, and the present large and beautiful one
in May, 1854. Their church lot, Fractional Square 29, was
a present from Mr. John Gindrat. ‘
arly in January, 1830, a new paper appeared in Mont-
gomery under the title of the ‘‘ Planters Gazette,” to battle
against the doctrine of the South Carolina Nallifiers. It
was published by E. W. Thompson, who had published
the “Republican,” the first newspaper-of the. town, and
James BE. Belser, esq., conducted the’editorial department.
It was changed, three years afterwards, in name, to the
“ Montgomery Advertisey,’”’ and the publication -has con-
tinued ever since. £ aos
In 1831, Mr. Caleb Tompkins began the construction of a
four-story framed Hotel on iot twelve, on the north side of
Market street. This structure, whicli fronted fifty feet, and
’
peasant arora
~™
Pt Mebane Btu cae ONT Areata
ap ee tn
wa higone i ines
2
&
wet
oe
pg ree NP + F
son age
. 292 ALABAMA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
ford road, between Uncle Blake’s and Columbus. Joseph learned that the
Indians had burned the bridge across the Big Uchee creek, on the old
Federal road, killed Mr. McKizzic and his wife and fired into Mr. Hart-
well D. Green’s wagon, killing the mules, destroying the wagons and
plunder, except what they appropriated to their own use. Mr. Greene and
his servants managed to make their escape. His family, who were in the
carriage, about a quarter a mile in the rear, hearing the guns firing and
the Indians yelling, turned about, and by another route, crossed the creek
and made their escape.
This all occurred on the 9th of May. Joseph returned home about
night and notified the neighborhood of what had occurred. Every man
for himself and family. After agreeing upon some concert of action, and
standing not upon the order of agreement, the house of Mr. John Perry,
who lived on the north side of the creek, on the hill near where Mr. Wil-
liam Long now lives, was the point agreed upon to meet. About 9 o'clock
p.m., they all started from that point, where they had collected. The cara-
van composed, as now remembered by Uncle Blake, Rev. Michael Thom-
as, Mr. Joseph Thomas, Mr. Harlin Blaylock, Mr. Isaac Hill—the well
known “Uncle Isaac”—Mr. James Cox, Rev. William Robinson, and his
aged parents, Mr. J. Perry, Dr. Cone, Mr. Stutstill, Mr. James Jeter and
their respective families. Others, whose names are not now remembered,
joined them as they advanced. The route they followed passed by where
Judge E. A. Garlick now lives, the Duncan place, the F. C. Slappey place,
turned to the left at the Digby place, followed the ridge, passed between
the John D. Green place and the A. R. Tiller place, crossed the present
road leading from Concord Church towards Crawford between Mr. Les-
lie’s and Mrs. Burton’s places and the Stroud creek a short distance above
a little mill built by the late James Story. From there they struck what
ss now the Columbus and Salem road between Mt. Zion and what is now
Mott’s Mill, following that road until it forked near what is now Smith’s
Station. Here they turned towards the river passing the Black Dirt hill
the Wm. Lowther place and touched the river at Hardaway’s Ferry about
daylight on the 10th of May. The women and children were crossed
over first, after which the men, with the wagon and teams followed; all
reaching the eastern side a little after sunrise. Then, and not until then,
did they feel safe. Here they separated, each family turning in the direc-
tion of their respective friends along the border settlements of Georgia.
The next day, Uncle Blake, after placing his wife with her father’s
family, started back to his place, by way of Columbus. On reaching that
VOLUME FIFTEEN—1953
CHAPTER XXII
Incidents of the War of 1836—Murder of Mr. and Mrs. McKizzic—
H. D. Greene—Refugeeing—Burning The Stage—A Mexican Soldier
Mr. Lackey Killed—Fort Brown—Military Service, Etc.
Having given the reader a clear and concise account of the real
causes of the Indian War of 1836, an account drawn from living wit-
nesses, whose integrity is unimpeachable, and in so doing, given ninety-
nine out of a hundred of my many thousand readers an Opportunity to
see the whole thing in its true and unvarnished light, an opportunity
which they have never enjoyed before, I will now proceed to give some
of the leading incidents of the war, which have only been referred to
before.
When the war broke out in earnest, Uncle Blake Thomas and his
servants were in the field plowing. This was on the 9th day of May,
1836. He had made one crop on his new place in the Indian country, and
had made many friends among wie Indians, and, as far as he knew, no
enemies; though there were one or two of his immediate neighbors whose
conduct incited to diligent watchfulness. He knew nothing definite of
the Indian hostile movement. {Early that morning, he discovered Tus-
koo-na Fix-a-ko and his son driving their cattle out of the swamp, towards
the council house, or his wigwam. This was something unusual, but he
plowed on until the noon hour. While at dinner, he related the cir-
cumstance to his wife, whereupon she informed him that old Katy Marth-
ley had been there that morning and told her to go back to her father’s
house in Georgia, that her people were going to fight the whites and
kill all who would not go away. Now, it appears that Mrs. Thomas had
been kind to this Indian woman, and, as kindness will tell on every heart,
savage or civilized, when properly extended, this untutored squaw could
not stand listlessly by and see her destroyed without giving her timely
warning and a chance to escape, though she did this at the peril of her
own life, for if the Indians had the least suspicion of what they would
consider a traitor in their camp, instant death would follow the object of
such a suspicion. Old Katy Marthley called Mrs. Thomas “ink-lis’—a
good squaw—and she did not want to see her killed. Mr. Joseph Thomas,
Uncle Blake’s brother, was out on the Crawford road that day and found
the people leaving, or preparing to leave. George W. Elliott, the sheriff
of the county, was living at Crocketville, a mile east of Crawford, and,
at that time, his was the only house on what is now known as the Craw-
VOLUME FIFTEEN—1953
town he found the entire country people from the west side of the river
collected there and intense excitement prevailing. Columbus was a small
town then. They earnestly warned him and endeavored to persuade him
not to attempt crossing the Indian country, saying that it would be fool-
hardiness—walking into the very jaws of death. In addition to his other
property, he had left a negro woman and her two children there unpro-
tected, with the promise that he would return to them as soon as he
possibly could, and he was resolved to redeem that promise. In company
with his two brothers, Mike and Joseph and Mr. Stutstill, they crossed
the river at the Girard bridge and struck out on what was known as the
Old We-tum-ka Trail, which led by the Eli Stroud place. Here this trail
turned to the left and touched the Little Uchee, about where Moffett’s
Mill was afterwards built, and running up the south side of the creek,
passed the Cotton place and from there on west. Uncle Blake and his
companions and did not go that route, though it was the nearest, on ac-
count, of its close proximity to an Indian town, where Tus-koo-na Fix-a-
ko, who was supposed to be one of the most active chiefs in inaugurating
the trouble, lived; but took the Chewacla Trail until he reached the trail
followed on the refugee trip. This last mentioned was called the Joe Mar-
shall Trail. No trouble was met on this return trip. Uncle Blake had left
everything he had, except the clothes he and his wife wore and the ponies
they rode. On his return he found everything just as he left it. His serv-
ent was in the field hoeing corn, and her two children nursing each other
in the middle of the rows. She was overjoyed to see him for she always
felt safe when “Mars Blake” was about, Indians or no Indians, but never
was satisfied when he was away under any circumstances. He immediate-
. ly loaded his ox-wagon with furniture, meat and as much corn and fod-
der as he could carry, with his negroes, and started back on the trip the
same day, following the out-going route and crossed the river about 8
a.m., the next day, traveling all night. A cloudless, mid-May full moon
favored him. His brothers and Mr. Stutstill returned with him. This
was the 12th day of May, and on that day, Tus-koo-na Fix-a-ko and his
warriors—all of whom were his neighbors—way-laid and burned the stages,
three in number, on their way from Montgomery to Columbus. The rea-
son why there was more than the usual number of coaches on the line
that day, was, the management was bringing out their stock from off the
line, out of danger, in view of the forthcoming trouble. In addition to the
usual team of four horses to the coach, there were several led, attached
to the straps from behind. According to the best recollection available,
there were about twenty-two horses, and “stage horses” in those days were
/
294 ALABAMA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
selected from the best stock the country could produce. There was con-
siderable treasure also in the coaches. This with the horses, was all lost.
It is said by some that the famous (?) Jim Henry, who was employed by
a merchantile firm in Columbus as salesman, in order to secure a mo-
nopoly of the Indian trade from the west side of the river, was Tus-koo-
na’s informant as to the exact day that these horses, and treasure were to
be brought out. It is also supposed by some that Jim Henry instigated the
burning of Roanoke, and, by virtue of his situation in Columbus, being
able to acquire information, reported the same to his people across the
river, aiding and abetting their warlike movement to the best of his abil-
ity, at the same time retaining the confidence of white friends. Others
say, personally, Jim Henry was a coward and never fired a hostile gun in
his life, and wonder why he has gone into history as “the famous Jim
Henry.” ‘There was the usual compliment of passengers that day, all of
whom were fortunate enough to escape, except Mr. Lackey, who lived in
Harris county, Ga. He was acting as agent for some orphan children, who
held an interest in some property in Macon county, Ala. He had trans-
acted the business and was on his way home. He had twelve or fifteen
hundred dollars with him, belonging to the orphans, which was lost.
Among the passengers was a soldier, who was on his return home from
Mexico, after a long imprisonment by Santa Anna, in the U. S. trouble,
on account of Texas territory. This soldier’s name was Hardaway. Being
well armed and game as a Spartan, he fought his retreat at his leisure,
killing several reds before he left the scene. When he saw that it would
be self-murder to remain fonger, he turned to retreat. By this brave con-
duct, the other passengers had time to escape, all but Mr. Lackey, who
being somewhat corpulent, was overtaken just before reaching the ford
of Brush creek, a half a mile from the scene, and was killed. He was
buried about a hundred yards west from where this tragedy occurred,
and a weather-worn marble slab stood at the head of his grave a few
years ago, and may still mark the spot. It should be renewed, at the ex-
pense of the Government, that the scene of this, one of the remarkable
events of the war of 1836, should not be obliterated. A vigorous young
hickory has sprung up near the grave within a few years. Mr. Hardaway
reached the creek and hid himself in the canebrake, which was thick
and rank at time. An Indian would scent him, cautiously approach, peer-
ing through the cane. Mr. Hardaway would wait patiently and motion-
less until he came within easy range of his deadly revolver; when a crack
a puff, of smoke, a guteral groan and that Indian ceased at once to strug-
gle and live. Hardaway would then change his position and wait for his
eee
BEES PR Peeaa alien ek
J
be + Ss
Fee haiug: toasts ey eu &
thE SR HS
6 ja we ap
= ee
ee ae ae
de ete!
NMP apy db
a
CLARKE COUNTY
Samuel Cobb, 64, Native of NC, farmer, shot, June,1860
George Wiggins, 4h, married, Georgia native, farmer, gun shot,
June, 1860
CONECUH COUNTY
Allen Page, 55, married, georgia native, farmer, gun shot,
Hov., 1859,
Ward, Irvin, 30, and Stephen, 25, both Alabama natives and farmers,
hung by a mob, Nov., 1859. 7
Explanation: "Allen Page was shot and killed by the Wards while
traveling along the road in his buggy. Irvin & Stephen were
hung by a mob for shooting Allen Page,"
COOSA COUNTY
A. L. Fignett, 47, widower, Georgia native, farmer, stabbed,
July, 18 9.
DALLAS OUNTY
Robert G, Barnes, 25, Ala. native, killed by blow on head by a
stick, Aucust, 1859,
DeKALB COUNTY
William Cooper, 53, married, Ky. native, farmer, pistol shot,
Oct., 1859.
Francis Swader, 59, married, Tenn. native, farmer, arsenic
poison, Oet os 1859,
Hasley Duncan, 27, married, Georgia native, farmer, stabbed,
August, 1859,
a FRANKLIN COUNTY
David C, Warhusst, 35, Ala. native, farmer, shot, Dec., 1859,
JACKSON COUNTY
(Mary Robinson) female slave, 7, poisoned, April, 1860.
LAUDERDALE COUNTY
Rufus N. Chisholm, 11, Alabama native, poisoned, May, X&%9xRam 1859
MARION COUNTY
TORR bez Ssob Ren 25, Ala. native, merchant, shot, May, 1860
AAV AIT MV T AHL
98¢se VNVYAV IV ‘ALISYa/
VIOLENT DEATHS, ALABA MA 1859-1860
The following are extracés from MORTALITY SCHEDULE OF PERSONS WHO
DIED DURING THE YEAR ENDING, JUNE 30, 1860, FROM U. 8. CENSUS
REPORT, by Marilyn Davis “arefield; Easley, 5C, 1987: Southern
Historical Press,
BALDWIN COUNTY.
Christopher Draper, 28 married, native of Ireland, Mariner, shot
and murdered, Feb., bo
Ben Grist, 0, slave, native of N. ©., shot and murdered, Jan.,
1860,
BARBOUR COUNTY
A. D. McRae, 1:8, married, native of N. C., MAGKXKXHX fermer,
murdered, Jan., 1860,
BIBB COUNTY
William Lindsey, 35, native of Ala., farmer, stabbed with sword
cahe, August, 1859,
BLOUNT COUNTY
Perry A, Bynum, 2, male, Ala. native, poisoned, May, 1860.
BUTLER COUNTY
P, P, Davenport, 33, South Csrolina native, farmer, gun shot,
Dec., 1859.
Je M. Foster, 60, widower, Georgia native, overseer, poisoned
Ma Yo 1860.
CALHOUN COUNTY
Richard Bues, 21, Alabama native, laborer, knife cut, Jan., 1860
Robert Coalman, 33, Married, N. © native, day laborer, killed,
being struck with fist, May, 1860,
CHEROKEE COUNTY
aie Wortha, 8, married, 5, C. native, farmer, murdered, Jan.,
1860,
CHOCTAW COUNTY
J, M. Calleham, 0, widower, overseer, murdered by negroes,
May, 1860,
Burel Boykin, 80, Georgia native, planter, killed by negro,
May, 1860 ;
MOBILE COUNTY.
Edward Lawless, 19, Ireland native, laborer, murzered, Jan., 1860
George W, Jordan, 0, a lighbboatman, hanged, Aug., 1859, for
the murder of a Spaniard,
Antony, 45, male slave, laborer, hanged for murder, Dec., 1859,
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
BE. H. Grant, 45, male, native of Scotland, grocer, murdered,
June, 1860.
A. Jones, 5, Georgia native, killed by negroes, March, 1860.
MORGAN COUNTY
Wiley F, Morris, 15, student, murdered, March, 1860,
PIKE COUNTY
Billan J. Everett, 26, Georgia native, mechanic, stabbed with a
knife, April, 1860,
Jacob Folmar, li, married, South Carolina native, shot Dec., 1860
RANDOLPH COUNTY
William Bird, 73, Georgia native, farmer, murdered by his son,
Dec., 1859.
Robert Sherman, 6), married, 8S. C, native, murdered July, 1859,
RUSSELL COUNTY
B. F. Hardy, 33, married, native of Scotland, engineer, stabbed
Junep 1860
SP. CLAIR COUNTY
William Russell, 23, married, farmer, murdered, March, 1860
era Russell was struck by his enemy with a weeding hoe and
killed.
TALLADEGA COUNTY
John Rutledge, 50, S. C. native, farmer, killed by his son,
March, 1860.
Joe Walker, 27, slave, murdered by Rutledge, November, 1859,
TUSCALOOSA COUNTY
William Fulton, 18, Ala. native, murdered by gun, July, 1859.
WILCOX COUNTY,
Ely Mendenhall, 60, N. C. native, farmer, assassinated, Nov., 1859,
»
Ap
NTY
ie
n=
ower
f , *
LLY. tee oe
Oe eat 4
4
oF da :
phy ; ; ) : 8 os :
(ag es atid ys Of. ? Sf LYECI
eee Deru 2 Air
Z Veiteinnd dE
SZ c
SAC Lale,
pile : Ateveley Manecipe. Are ,
ar et wer) I~ KE. PL AAP \ Glee ZL
ed Leleaen a Charged cele o Lcty a ee
Le oy Me Bio) foory Meer des,
ie faites €CL0- we Bie fctsPy Le
Lear khean Face Ie s235
Po. Catt tre A de Cade. Aha.
war. F JD B fetey a Ee Ate. ad f Lelecediel”
Zee CH by fhe Pore Lapeer) ftw La gf
aeneg! tif farue lefty Me dau? hatF FS
fayette Cuccwle Ai teal Bue Jivédts
ae SPO Cag A Pore wtate 12 tn
&.
£
(fll ge Mie: x wastes
5
tee, wee
| CL tn,
8 BON: TOE N
dated 1838, No one Inows to
whom this book belonged, but so
many of the pioneer names of this
section are listed,
It might be interesting to know
something about Fayette County
people at this time. A newly
married couple, most likely
frightened out of their wi ts,
was William Owens Moore and
his wife nt Ann (Kirkland)
Moore, who had only been mar-
ried two months, They lived
east of Sipsey, Joseph Smith,
thought to be the father of Rich-
ard Allen Smith, was living with
his family west of Luxapelila, .
The John M, Northam family was
still in North Carolina, The Rev.
John H, Davis and wife had two
little children, Thomas and
Nancy Ann, The Miles and Bobo
familes were yet in South Caro-
lina, as were some of the Millers
and Blacks, The Humbers had
not arrived in Fayctte County,
Harvey Whitley was a boy of 11
years, John R, Kirkland was a
young married man with two
little girls, Elizabeth and Virgin-
ia, Carson Moore son of William
and Elizabeth Moore was a boy
of eight living east of Sipscy, Jes~
se Taylor had been in Fayette
County for about a year, settling
in the northwest part of the county,
Anderson Farquhar and wife Leven-
{a Farquhar had two little boys,
John and James, In the Davi
Thornton family of the eastern sec-
LD /¢6
. Cle ae ae
LIVE. SOE AE Qe Leo
c D A ¢.-
ie 5 ee : Me fit eccley Fob
Aad {CCE wed Mes Ll cevrlaed gee
ah Meo Le ee Es oy tea“ Aes ee) LOI LOL ta? Sa
CCM LLL
2
r
C=
thony F, Bell had set up seven mile },
posts from Berry*s Gin to the Pick-
ens County line and had been paid
$5, 24 Issac Langsdale and Elkanah
Ward had recently settled in the
Newtonville section, ‘Levi Guin had
been in the County about a year,
The ever popular Capt, William S,
Taylor was living in the western
part of the county in the midst of
other Taylor families, one of the
oldest being Peter Taylor, Willizm
S. Taylor later served in the Leg-
islature from Fayette Couity, Reu-
ben Jones, a Revolutionary War
soldier had settled near Hell's
Creek, George May and his fam=
4 were living in the northern part
of Fayette County, His wife was
Hannah Henderson whom he had
married in 1819 in Washington
County, Alabama, Jackson White
was a seven month old baby. Ma-
lissa Rice, daughter of Othnell
Rice, was an eight months old
baby,
Among things purchased were
linen, silk, calico and other cloth;
tibbon, ladies’ bonnets, shoes,
stockins;
Trunks, axes, hoes, nails, curry
combs; shot and brimstone; salts
bottles of castor oil for $1, 00,
They all seemed to use Godfrees
cordial, plenty of tobacco and
whiskey ($1.00), coffee beans
and pepper,
The different items sold at
tion of the county, a little daughter, his store are amazing when you
Eppa was born during the year 1833, consider most of it would have
John J, Branyon of
ten months old when the stars fell,
John White and wife, Jane Ford
White had a little daughter, Eliza-
beth born during the year, She la-
ter married Tilmon Baker and
moved to Texas, The Hogan Yerby
family had just settled in their new
Thomas Cates had returned from a
ublic land sale in Tuscaloosa on
t, 29,
ewtonvillewas had to have been brou ght in b
horse back or stage coach on he
Byler Road,
The men provided the nneat
by hunting and fishing. They
had to grown their fruits and
vegetables, as there were no
ME Jog house at Newtonville. {ie and canned or frozen foods in those
days,
We do not have many of tlic
earlv county records since the
a
ZPALLY yp
ZA
C Sah aaeisty
fh : <i ot Cnn y ‘
§ Zz elise at Gn ‘ohee x as Mea’ Agee “- CA PoaOGy LOLS LAE
4- ’ dr. ,
Gf. LfbALZE yA _ PEL LE COLL LL a Meda 20 0. lleteagg. yh setae a!
a Ze 6 FoF re
, “£ na -
tiap L00E7 Meer
wat
ss
BO Lif Lear
Altec l ce Fin
—_
QELS: CS
Fayette had broken the law,
and hired his Negro slave to
bum the court house so there
a
A> Llt. LEO OP 2 C0 ec.
Lg Casts ¢~ Cry (Doras! AX Be. fligectnerteste ie
gra ith, in Ae O0-e°-C. _L5 ‘eee )
Acweg dh Gigtat Atlas Ao try f
LEE Vi meee
ne ee
Poy Hicegacdee aa Clie
as been said a man ( I won't
call his name) who lived above
would be no record of his crime.
Then we all know the entire
town bumed in 1911,
We have found
records of
many murders in this section of
Alabama from around 1850 to
1875,
A murder I've
ed before was that of Mrs,
Elizabeth Yerby Sheperd , motha
of Jacob and Issac Sheperd,
was living alone with her Negro
woman slave, age 25, by name
of Phebee. She was sitting on
the door step late in the evening
The Negro woman
the chickens,
mention-
She
slipped up behind her and kil-
rm with a butcher knife, Phe -
bee was hanged in Fayette in the
early part of 1850 for the murder
of her mistress.
Mrs, Sheperd and her son Mich-
eal were the first Sheperds buried
in this old Shepherd Cemetery in
front of the Mute Baker Home,
This cemetery was ploughed un-
der and monuments destroyed
over 60 years ago,
Ih those days men of wealth
lived in fear of being robbed and
murdered,
George Trawick was
murdered here in 1864, I've men-
tioned his being the richest man
in Newtonville
efore, but he
also had a big skelton in his closet,
He was worth $60,000., owned a
store and many acres ot land in
Tuscaloosa, Walker and Pickens
counties and about 500 acres just
north of here that was originall
land homesteaded by A, B, erat
Andrew McCool.
They were
ancestors of the present McCools
of this county,
wg: Yrawick drove his
Ww
oxen an
settlement on Bear Creek to
have his corn ground into meal,
agon to the Carraway
iol,
tt Deere
Vs din
WILLIAM’ Kk
thursday Api
Now at this day
solicitor Willi:
the prosecuter
as well as the «
in his own pro;
well as by his «
fendant having
assigned and ci
indictment hier
pleaded not gt
thereupon cain
and lawful inci
Jeffers and cles
being elected .
sworn and char.
truly to try the
upon there oath:
the jury find th
OL ALA,
er
BY
19, 1860 -
‘ame the
VE, Earnest
r the state,
fendant
person, as
unsel the d«
cen heretof
*ged upon ti
a, and havi
y thereto,
1 jury of ge
o wif Wn),
n others whi
ipanneled
well and
ssue joined
do say we
defendant
guilty of murde, if the first
degree, and thar he must
suffer death,
It is therefore considered |
the court that it
with the verdic’
tendered, the s
“<<
1 accordance
of the Jury s
id defendant
William peak 4 be hanged by
|
the neck unti
‘2 is dead, It
is further considered appoint: d
by the court th.
Fayette —
the fifteenth da,
t the sheriff« £
shall on Frid.iy
of June, wi'l
proceed to execute the sentence
and judgement
and conform to
of Chapter 11,
of the code of ¢
Given unde
office this 12th
1860. Arty A,
Clerk of
Court «:
Alabarm
yf this court
the requirements
‘itle 2, Part 4
.labama,
my hand at
Jay of June, AD
summers,
ihe Circuit
Fayette, Cc,
oxen brought h
was buried in ¢!
family ceimetai
Mute Baker hoi
I want to sa\
Gibson and Gre
They were not '
of this comin
came from Vi::
Anson County,
the Revolution.
lived among ti.
Yerby and Guit
later settled hy
Gibsons living
in the 1760": \.
liam and Walt.:.
Gibson and my
great grandfath<
were neighbor:
Jacob Gibson,
of the North Csr
settled in Walk
1830, Among «i:
Jacob, Jr, and
3.785. Tillman °
Berry area of [,
1850, and he
were the anceui
Newtonville Gi’
The Gravlee:
Carolina,
living in Tuane.
were living in
settled in Wath:
1840, where ti:
William Gravio
1810, and aryon:
George Wasiii..
served asa Liv:
Civil War,
to Newtonvi"!
Czarina Nati,
large famiiy,
Icy and Lets
Washington ¢
Baptist miuict:
of this chur
If the rer vile
night could ': .
is no doubi |.: ¢
fright, woo. :
would besi. :
of the peop!
event made
on the people 1
to recon lin’: :
13, 1833, 4.: :
either belore or
of the Stars, "
With all uli:
attended this, th.
natural pheno tic
there were noie
Pv di
\'sbama,
Gravlee and ti
body home. He
old She per
in front of the
little about the
‘ee families.
oneer settle.s
y. The Gibsons
ia down to
', C., befor:
‘War, and
Shepherds, oe,
amilities thst
Among the
i Anson County
ce James, Wil-
This Walter
raat-great-preat
‘ William Yerby
there in 1767.
Sr, a descendant
Olina Gibsons
County before
3 sons Were
‘!llman, bom
is living in the
‘stte County in
t his wife, Sara,
rs Of all the
“ONS,
‘ame from North
’ they were
ive, and by 1830
John
other, William
1 County before
were farmers,
was born in
his sons was
“on Gravlee who
nant in the
1 1865 he came
! married Miss
cy reared a
“ng them Brad-
‘ev, George
: hecame a
iid was pastor
easy years,
of this
~.led, there
* :1@ words
vitement
:¢ feelings
ectacular
Npression
y began
jate, Nov,
vok place
the" Falling
vac « Ment that
ost unusual
un of all time,
>> unfortunate
houses.
The county does have two
modern motels, one at Sulligent
and one at Vernon.
There is something about the
*
a Bio. Sie aad a
os
homey atmosphere of the small
town hotel, which brings back
fond memories to many of the old
time drummers or salesmen, who
once patronized them.
An era passed, when tne Suingent aepur
was closed. Now it is used as a Storage
warehouse.
RAILROAD NOSTALGIA
The decline in railroad traffic
and taking off of the passenger
trains in Lamar County has
brought on nostalgic memories of
earlier days.
I recall many years ago some
six hoboes under a railroad trestle
near Sulligent eating stew by an
open fire. Chances are, the
ingredients for the stew, corn,
Onions, potatoes and chicken,
were borrowed from local resi-
dents without their knowledge.
The hoboes were eating, laugh
ing and talking about their next
distination. This was a break
between frejght trains, and where
they were §lling their empty
stomachs. It seems to me hoboes
were America's first hitch-hikers.
The scene was really romance and
freedom by firelight.
Old timers around Sulligent
recall the times when hoboes
would go from house to house
seeking food. Most of them were
looking for a handout without
assets wnceihrcal |
a
An old railroad engine put out to pasture.
77
working. Still, one Sulligent
native said: ‘‘When a hobo came
to my house asking for food |
would say - ‘yes - we will give you
food, after you cut that pile of
wood’. Some would cut the wood,
followed by a hearty meal, then
move on. Now and then, one
would be too lazy to work and just
leave."’
The hobo scene under the
bridge was picturesque, warm
and inevitable. Still, all of the
men, each from a different state
in the union were talking about
home or their hometown. They
seemed to be happy but lonely.
there was something one of them
said: they were always looking for
something in the next town. But
when they arrived in the next
town they never seemed to find it.
THE OLD HANGING TREE
The old hanging tree, a large
oak tree, still stands today in
Fayette. No one seems to know
exactly how many people were
hung on this tree.
When Lamar County was part
of Fayette County, hanging was
the legal method used to put a
person to death, who had been
convicted of murder. The old
hanging tree was used the last
time in 1860.
William Kirby, a native of
Pickens County, had shot his
father and brother during a family
feud. He used a double-barrel
shotgun with buckshots. He used
the first barrel on his father, and
the second on his brother.
After the double murder, Kirby
fled from the scene and headed
for the woods. A posse was
organized, including some of his
relatives, led by Col. Thomas
Bennett, to capture the wanted
man. Using bloodhounds the
group captured him between
Gordo and Fayette.
The feeling was so high in
Pickens County, that Kirby was
lodged in jail at Fayette. There he
tried to commit suicide. His
lawyer asked the Governor to
change his sentence to life
imprisonment, but it was turned
down.
Defense attorneys for Kirby got
The Old Hanging Tree. Last person hung
on lower limb in 1860.
a change in venue, and he was
tried and convicted of double
murder at Fayette. He was
sentenced to be hanged on the old
hanging tree.
Mrs. Maggie Lee Hays’ grand-
father, Rev. John H. Davis, a
Methodist minister, was called to
say the prayer before the hang-
ing. Mrs. Hays’ father, Charles
H. Davis, who was ten years old
at the time (1860) went along with
his father to see the hanging.
Years later he told Mrs. Hays:
‘They had William Kirby, wear-
ing a white shroud, sitting on his
casket in a wagon, going to his
hanging.”
Kirby was hanged by the
sheriff and his body returned to
Pickens County for burial. This
was the last hanging carried out
on the old hanging tree.
Friendship South Zapust Church was
established in 1827.
HOW THEY WORSHIPPED
IN EARLY DAYS
When early settlers came to
Lamar County, one of the first
things they did was establish
some kind of church or place to
worship.
78
The old brush-arbor type, a
temporary one, made from rough
branches and brushes, were set
up for summer revivals and for
use before permanent buildings
were constructed.
The Methodists had their cir-
cuit rider, or pack-saddle preach-
er, who would ride in on horse-
back, dismount and hold services
in homes, tents or church build-
ings.
It was said that one of these,
Rev. Lorenzo Dow, who rode in
both Lamar and Pickens County
had finished a series of revivals in
Lamar County, and headed for
Pickens County. There, he stop-
ped in a rough, rawhide settle-
ment, one he thought, really
looked like it needed a revival.
He went from shanty to shanty
promoting his revival and inviting
the people to come. The revival
was held in a tent, but the crowds
were small, where only a few
were converted.
When Rev. Dow mounted his
horse and rode away a local
citizen yelled at him: ‘‘Parson, we
haven’t named our town yet -
what would you suggest?’’
The disgusted parson turned in
his saddle, as he started off
saying: ‘‘Reform! That is what
you need to do, Reform!”’
The name stuck and Reform it
is today - Reform, Alabama.
Frank Gilmer said about re-
ligion: ‘‘Old Yellow Creek Asso-
ciation would meet 3 days, using
a brush-arbor for the meetings.
People would come on horseback,
oxcaris, buggies or walk. The
visitors would stay in the homes
of local members. We would feed
them, and put down pallets on
the floor for sleeping. Sometimes
there were so many guests at our
house, it would take three table
settings to feed them all.
I recall one of our guests was a
preacher - I wanted to go fox
hunting that night after services,
but didn’t want the preacher to
know. When he was asleep, I got
the dogs and took off. However, I
got back home the next morning
before he woke up.”’
The Church of the Nazarene
has a large camp ground on the
Columbus Highway, west of
Millport. The grounds, which
covers severa acres, contains
5 A nt
FAYETTE COUNTY, ALABAMA,
Lamar County History
Third Revised Bicentennial Edition
By Joe G. Acee
Printed & Published By
The Lamar Democrat
|
P.O. BOX 587
VERNON, AL. 35592
July, 1976
S © Copyright by The Lamar Demeacrat, Vernon, Al. All Rights Reserved. No part of this book
may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the Publisher.
\W na : Price $6.00 Mailing $6.50
. py
|
Sydney King, Aug. 2, 1903, hanged, Dr. Charles Whelan, aged 23, male, mulatto.
Gilbert Lowe, Feb. 21, 1890- date of interment, hung until dead, Dr. H.N. Rosser,
aged 27, male, black.
Anderson Hall, interred Oct. 30, 1905, Hung, Dr. R.B. Harkness, aged 25, male.
a hXM
I don't know if the before mentioned Cooper,’ Ha119 and King were executed or
accidentally killed or suicides, but if you already have these listed as legal
hangings there might be some information here to add to what you have. I seem
to remember seeing some of these deaths described as "execution", but did not
notice any tonight, so I could have been jn error.
I'm enclosing one of my brochures--just for your interest. If I can
find any of those notes, I will forward them on. Do call if you are ever up
here doing some research. I work at the Birmingham History Society office,
254-2138 and my home number is 930-9606.
Cordially,
Marilyn (Madge) Barefield
P.S. I was just thinking about what my mother would say about this letter. She
is constantly fretting about all the obituaries, mortality records and cemetary
records I have written and fusses that I should have a very morbid personality.
She would have some choice remarks to say about your executions. She surely
would think we are both ghoulish. The articles you included with your letter
ee
are very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
Also, I didn't have any info on any of the other cases you mentioned.
HISTORY
OF
r Sa J
eg eptie rs (a Ra
4 { aa
LIMESTONE COUNTY
LIMESTONE COUNTY, ALABAMA.
ALABAMA.
BY .
PUBLIC L'IBRARY
BIRMINGHAM, ALA
44
ROBERT HENRY WALKER, JR.
LINAA Cx
ae fae
per 23. leh
tek pact da
tga” 4
SL Cenk Ly a
“eed O abn
| iy Ne he Ora Breen Minty
S do” Sen (ae 9 heii LF > a
THE HISTORY
of
OPELPK
AGRICULTURAL TRIBUTARY TERRITORY
Embracing More Particularly Lee and Russell Counties,
from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Date
By REV. F. L. CHERRY—“Okossee”
i
a
3
a
4
*
i
4
dod.
2 a
~~ cA é
Leer Re Rete ARR So as Te Rae catty le pica etapa
beat hei wheeled
2a
Ns
*
ae
wie
mil
PUA RN Gy ah Pa RN oH
ae te et eee SEES nn orate abs ss a re wy 2% v LEN VES PN PRR BRR mE eR oar SOE TEE ee he RY ecg: meee
‘
ALABAMA HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
Published by the
State Department
Archives and History
MARIE BANKHEAD OWEN, Editor
EMMETT KILPATRICK, Co-Editor
Teatt Cocky, Myton (Adag)
osial tle in)
ere Whe —* fe Dyarchall
/9L. PE Teg
Béosns la, lee, IM GpwadablipedanceeocbeF>
a 220,
Jooreds é Teu-Hap-sewepa) SWPP 3S
Od,
Tus-Kog-/4 FX ICO
aedere 21-29% 397 Mol,
| CIRCUIT CLERK AND REGISTER
James E. Floyd 24th JUDICIAL CIRCUIT P. O. Box 418
Clerk, Circuit Court : Carrollton, Alabama 35447
Pickens County Courthouse Pickens County, Alabama
(205) 367-5131 :
TOAL 6205 eu
Lier cy: iL
rs BSUu(G
ove SyES)
Aime uso Obeut a Sy oe eet
Come pron Picken, Co. Neratd “eusepapen 1419.
AL NSO aucens ding
FAYETTE COUNTY, ALABAMA.
Fayette, Alabama SESQUICENTENNIAL BROADCASTER, Septe, 1969, pages 22-23
iit
WILLIAM
WAIL Al
WOMEN
By Marguerite Tarwater
Callahan
William Kirby, a native of
Pickens county, was hanged -
justly or unjustly - in Fayette
County, Only the Creator will
know whether Kirby had malice
in his heart when he shot his fa~
ther in 1859, ©
Kirby came home one day to
find his father beating a retarded
son, Kirby, so the story goes,
icked up a gun and shot his
ather, A bullet ricocheted
and hit his brother, killing both
father and son.
There is no doubt but that great
numbers of people visited the jail -
and talked with the condemned
man, His every word and com-
ment was news to eager ears and
quoted to this day,
"Every woman who can sell a
dozen eggs to buy a yard of cali-
co, to make a dress, will come
to see old hung, and by
God, they'llsee it". This was
one remark the prisoner made.
His last words, spoken in a more
sober tone, have been remem=
bered, too.
Eye witnesses to the hanging
have described it as a most hor~
rible and unforgetable experience
It took place on Friday June 15,
1860, The hanging tree still
stands in Old Town, It is said
that this was the only white man
ever to hang in Fayette County,
No relatives of the condemne
man were present except for a
sister, The screams of the wo-
men were almost unbearable and
lived on as haunting memories to
those telling the story. The Rev.
John H, Davis was present and
may have been the minister who
supported the prisoner in his last
hour and who offered up the last
prayer.
Preachers of the county must
have lifted their voices in earnest
prayer and with special zeal as
they sought to prepare for eternity,
a man condemned to die, The
Rev, Julius Glover, age 49, lately
of Tuscaloosa, was a Methodist
minister, He and his wife are
buried near Fayette on the Win-
field Highway.
The Fayette Democrat, ancws™:
aper, was being published by,
Richard Allen Smith and must
have printed the luried details
of the recent hanging, They say
that the old printing press he
used was over a hundred years
old at that time, A confession
ublished after the man was
Ranged ave the story in full anc
pe a strange feud that had
existed in the family. Printers
were Richard J, Smith, a son,
and a young nan named J, C.
Massey age 24, and another J.
W, Russell, age 21.
Kirby asked that his trial
be changed from Pickcns to
Fayette County and the request
was granted, On these pages
are the ere involved in this
case. Kirby was found guilty
on one count of murder and
was sentenced to be hanged.
He had pleaded not guilty.
Stars Fell On Fayett
The following article is a
combination of articles pre~
pared by Mrs, B. A. Sullivan
of Birmingham and Mrs,
Marguerite Tarwater Callahan
of Tuscaloosa, Their stories
were about the same time
tad an thev have been
y
(4 /
Vi
i
Who, tile yf, Beabeaueed *
G ,
Pie/eten CC sevely
i -:
i ’
pres
Le
Ait i AWULY TELE
SWit
INDIE CTMENT
Wile vA Mle
_ $F Milf a fie ze’ Wag a
lA id
Bae! cA a A-ceaBb, beededc
beLP ball;
Mhiel.
42
%
bucsen!
4
F saeaiae: *blealaeelia..
me
| fax
S Mane. Ao ~~ A
BM Sieard tb
| my ; ;
erifeces, eyecede. (fete“ler
Bo theinste Adee
NB LLEOLS
ae
pteéL Jez
Frerse’, Willian go <
Yesn holy. Zev Varrisaw 4 Aaadliy , Ggetdls A
Maiiner y Nthartltea, are 7 fi,
| occas. Bayfer) btdicll hic lew
. a . 4
LEE tbs edt tw a7 Ssterirccer
\ Ghco sl -
| & 2 : ‘ ihe r
‘2 ey” ( fie bteListie.. tell ttharge- a Lé- OO LOIS
A Sheer’ fledfeclive :
4
ieee
a:
poe
"Spee
on November 13, 1
most brillant display of meteors
in the history of the world, It
as a sleepless night
bamians,
amends with their
Me ench eroup consisted ofa
Klro
Pree ie ee
Some terrified observers
spent considerable time making
Promges 0
’
<
tive ,
oe, Lesa am
-@
. . My 1- wy , EC
Ze Sati “htt tig Sb LL
e County
indeed repent of their sins. A
Methodist minister lived a quarter
of a mile from Fayette, and thence
ward on their horses, they sped,
arrived at the minister's
a scene O
great repentence occurred, They
promised the minister they would
833, with the
for many Ala-
They
home
conscience,
4 aay maa
PI ae
sts
feed, Ald jt wt Vad Led
GL Ae Jiee ger .
8 Mead Bek. re
By
a Bee €,
.
wt te
HH
Lew! Ye. He ac
peer Beye eats Leord:
i BP fees ‘26 or4 dae da aprd. fOr
perused’ bight? yy SRP ad A2ed SFE
MV uupvee®, He fordact vag. are
be dg th Sees! cp Vu Le220
i Jbee1ty. ace gpd! ¢ A.
floshardttd. “ip Pf
Ledleclment po ?
oO an ae
Mbegber
- ; “f ow a
jitaer EE fle Lbvpeipiely ested Lee,
teyeest aa ay
»
Vin yn Jp
A. Flaw
OP Yleeks
. LEGA Abec Leg” Bos
Bate af Faas "ae =
F A- Yl fe4 ? ;
aac’, Bit .. Yer J SLEALO 1G Bite sielep JOLIE
ple clhed. ; eZ yfar sevenlle f ple Post ae co Cas Fed a
fed tardtE Lo Wee, ME
Mitha2tle bre
x
F
COLe les,
Py
Vibe
Let,te sted
Vas
Biden, LF
Vite ee faces
Vie TIO oS.
Lf F.
os
€)
. ad
. Cit tler L0-669
at last where
Jf ctdate™ ‘Dew nt
. 4
- more engaged in
The taverns had
drinking and gat
in full swing wh
to fall.
Among the nc
pandemoniuin,
and easily excit
the ground scre
On large planta’
be hundreds lyii
Their cries wer:
¢ if his the world’s on !
Notes on “adison County, Alabama Capital cases, provided by Fred Simpson,
former District Attorney of Madison County.
AUGUST 27, 1885
Charles Townsend killed Nathan M. Freeman. HE WAS HANGED.
JULY 25, 1900
Elijah Clark, Twenty years old, raped and killed Susie Priest. HE WAS LYNCHED
after being taken from the jail and removed to the town of Dallas. The deed was
done by the mill workers in Dallas.
SEPTEMBER 7, 1904
Horace Maples killed A. E. Waldrop. He killed him after robbing him at the three
forks of the Flint River. Officer Wilson and Constable Phillips captured Waldrop
after a buggy chase down Holmes and captured him on Pulaski Pike. Judge Speak tried
the case and the District Attorney was Pettus. People came from Merrimack and Dallas
to the jail. The jail was guarded by Company F of the local militia or national guard.
The jail was broken into by a mob and Maples jumped from the window and was caught
by the mob who tied a plow line around his neck, took him to the south side of the
courthouse, threw the plow line over a limb, and summarily LYNCHED HIM and then shot
him. As a result of this action, the police chief, mayor, and sheriff were requested
to be impeached by the Grand Jury. However, that action was never taken and Company F
was disbanded in disgrace.
SEPTEMBER 21, 1904
Dennis Smith killed Mollie Watkins, his paramour. He was indicted by the same
grand jury which reported on the lynching of Maples. A death sentence was given to
Smith for cutting his paramour's throat from ear to ear but feelings soon cooled and
on March 8, 1905, Mr. Smith was retried and sentenced to 20 years.
January 12, 1917
David Overton, Circuit Court Clerk and City Policeman, during the lynching of
Maples, killed W. T. Lawler, Probate Judge at Whitesburg Bridge. Population of
8,000 citizens in Huntsville at that time. After sentence, he made a sensational
escape from the Jefferson County Jail and behind Birmingham College was SHOT TO DEATH
BY A POSSE.
May 11, 1936
Walter Miller killed a 19 year old girl, Vivian Woodward, after raping her. HE WAS
EXECUTED June 19, 1936.
May 16, 1942
James Lester Coffee killed Dr. James E. Walker who he believed was having an affair
with his wife and had performed illegal abortions on her. He shot the doctor in
the head with a pistol. Case was reversed and on retrial was sentenced to LIFE.
December, 1961
WILLIAM F. BOWEN
PROSECUTOR: Tom Younger and David Thomas
William Bowen killed Janice Thomas. He worked for Homes Pest Control Company and
was a part-time circuit riding preacher. He stabbed the victim with a butcher knife
fourteen times. On January 15, 1965, he was ELECTROCUTED. LAST PERSON TO DIE IN
ALABAMA ELECTRIC CHAIR BY CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
March 2, 1967
AUDIE LEE SEAGROVES
PROSECUTOR: David L. Thomas
He killed Ethel Marie Putman, secretary at OGMS Guided Missle School. Got in
her car, forced her to drive to mountain where he raped and killed her with a pistol.
Death sentence was reversed in May, 1968 and he pleaded guilty in August, 1968, and
/
W ote ee re
"| jul died | Bae, / Cuaautl
ar ase
*WAVaVIV ‘XINNOD SHCNMOT
GLEANINGS FROM
THE LOWNDES COUNTY CHRONICLE,
DECEMBER 1, 1841, to DECEMBER 1, 1843
Chrcnicles of tne 1840’s lie before me, and as they il
luminate the events of these years far better than I can,
I repeat many of them here, giving only items of local
interest.
The first of these is the meeting of the Agricultural
Society of Lowndes County, held at Lowndesborough, the
13th of November, 1841,Colonel John A. Tarver presided,
and A. Dougiass was appointed secretary. The following
names appear in the membership of the club: J. J. Mickle,
John Rugeley, Rowland Rugeley, Needham Smith, James
Smith, Morgan Smith, Thomas C. Evans, Peter Evans, Ran-
som Hundley, Robert Scott, Alfred Scott, Russell P. Mc-
Cord, Walter Drane, Jesse Ivey, Henry Lewis, William Cook,
Robert B. Campbell, J. L. F. Cottrell, Henry Howard, John
McCall, H. B. McCall, Dr. Dunklin, Thomas Jones, Stephen
Bryan, John Powers, Jones M. Gunn, Nathaniel Reese,
John B. Lamkin and Dr. Nixon.
In the same edition appears a notice of the execution of
Isaac Davis for the murder of Samuel Frost: “On Friday
last the sentence of the law was carried into effect in the
presence of a large concourse of the citizens. For some
time previous to his executicn, Mr. Davis had been visited
daily by Rev. William Rice, of the Methodist-Protestant
church, and Rev. Theodore Sayre of the Presbyterian
church, with the-hope of communicating instruction that
would aid in preparing him for the doom that awaited him.
We are informed that he did truly give his heart to God.
“On the morning of the execution he was asked if he had
anything to say before the fulfillment of the sentence. At
his request Mr. Sayre stated that he acknowledged the
justice of the sentence, as he truly perpetrated the alleged
crime; that he died in charity with all men; and, though
his crime was of deepest dye, he trusted that he had made
78
GLEANINGS FROM THE Lownnes County CHRONICLE
~~ EES SS EOS eoeSeeeteeeseeeeeeeeoee ee
his peace with God, and hoped for mercy through the
merits of Jesus Christ. Prayer was then offered by Rev.
William Rice, when he took leave of the clergymen, with
expressions full of joyful hope, and in a moment was launch-
ed into eternity.
“Mr. Davis frequently inquired if any of his family were
present. On being told that they were not, he earnestly
requested the jailor that his body be retained above ground
as long as possible, in hopes that they would send for it.
The request was strictky complied with. The body was re-
tained until Sunday morning, when it was buried at the
place of execution.”
“On the tenth of November, 1841, a very large and resrec-
table meeting of the Democracy of Lowndes County was
held at Church Hill, near Benton. The meeting was or-
ganized by calling Colonel William B. Haralson to the chair.
and appointing Mr. Thomas Harrison secretary.
“On the motion of Dr. J. W. Dunklin, a Committee of
Thirteen was appointed by the chair to draft a Preamble
and Resolutions expressive of the sense of the meeting in
relation to the high-handed measures of the late extra ses-
sion of the Congress of the United States, and other mat-
ters in which the country feels a deep interest: the follow-
ing gentlemen were appointed: Dr. J. W. Dunklin, Thomas
C. Evans, Isaac B. Stone, Robert Rives, Lewis Moore, John
Daniel, Archibald Tyson, Josiah W. Cowling, John W. Bryan,
John P. Broun, Major D. H. Middleton, Captain A. T. May,
Colonel R. P. McCord, Major Frank Gordon. Also present
were Hon. Dixon H. Lewis, Charles L. Woodbury and J.
M. Hardy.” 2
‘Died in Hayneville December 15, 1841, Willis C. West,
aged 85 years, seven months and seventeen days.” Mr.
West married Mary Jones Rambo Patrick, widow of John
W. Patrick, and daughter of Lawrence Rambo:z..
“Peter S. Thompson died in this village on the 2nd of
October last, in the 44th year of his age.” Mr. Thompson
was a brother of Edward W. Thompson, editor of The
Chronicle.
Thristiana Gill advertised her home and a store for sale.
“These buildings are situated on the east side of North
Washington street adjoining Mr. Jenk’s Tavern.”
*
re 5 sala ek all Mi i il
286 ALABAMA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
the time, and by a general agreement, he assumed the role of sheriff, and
in due time, Conard was informally arrested, bound and in the early
part of the day, started with him to Girard. Conard’s friends, hearing of
his arrest, collected a number and followed. On the way, they heard the
report of firearms and on reaching a point on the trail near where Mr.
John Dawkin’s Steam Mill stood in 1883, found Conard tied to a small
tree, and his body riddled with bullets. There was no one in sight, and
no evidence as to who killed him, but, of course, Conard’s friends be-
lieved that his captors did the deed, and under this conviction, followed
them on to Columbus, but were afraid to go any farther. Just at this
time, Mr. Cotton was not arrested, but the Indians made such a clamor
it was thought best to arrest him, more for his own safety than the pressure
of public opinion as to his guilt or innocence. This arrest took place six
months after. When arrested, the Indians clamored for the privilege of
trying him according to their laws, and this clamor continued to in-
crease until it was clear that if he ever fell into their hands, there would
be but little justice or form of justice in his case. As the time had ex-
pired when the Indians were to depart for their reservation in Arkansas,
according to the treaty, they had no right to demand a trial according to
their form of Jaw. Mr. Cotton remained in prison until it was safe for
him to appear at large, when he came out under bond. His case was post;
poned from court to court, his bond being gradually reduced, until in
1837, the prosecuting attorney declined to prosecute the case any farther
and Mr. Cotton was honorably discharged. ‘This put a finality to all pro-
ceedings against him.
While I am on this subject, I may as well state, for the benefit of
Mr. Cotton’s memory and his friends who survive him, that public opin-
jon was in his favor throughout this affair. He remained in the country
several years after, even until his death. He was thrice married and died
a few years before the war, at the place which he settled on the Little
Uchee, and his grave and that of his first wife, may be found side by
side, on the south bank of the creek, near his old home.
Mr. Cotton was a man of means all his life, and as he lived in a
stormy period of the country’s history, his history was, in a degree stormy.
While he may have fallen into errors, and those errors may have, in a
measure shadowed his life, his career also showed many virtues, and his
descendants inherited the latter and compose some of the best citizens of
Macon county.
ts tes
VOLUME FIFTEEN—1953
stolen from him about a week before Uncle Blake reached his new home.
This breach of hospitality was not to be winked at by the savages, and the
guilty party was hunted up and summary justice administered. This was
the last ever heard of the thief in that locality. As Uncle Blake had kept
out of the scrape thus far, he was wise and prudent enough to continue
un neutral and consequently safe terms with all the parties afterwards.
He had got his five dollars for five gills of whiskey honestly and it would
have been dangerous to become involved in their quarrels. So he kept his
own counsel and his money, too, and the good opinion of the Indians
withal. :
As Uncle Blake Thomas was here and well acquainted with the Cy-
rus Cotton Murder Affair, I will relate it as remembered by him. Mr. Cy-
rurs Cotton lived on the place, and near where the Edwards estate mills
now stand. He kept a grocery and sold whiskey to the Indians, in particu-
lar, and everybody else who wanted it, in general. His family was in Geor-
gia, and he was engaged here in clearing a new-ground and getting out tim-
bers for the trection of a mill on the creek. He was considered a wealthy
man for the country in those days, and consequently exercised considerable
influence in his neighborhood, among all classes, though he was a man of
but little education. One day, in the spring of 1835, Mr. Cotton had a
misunderstanding with an Indian by the name of Joe Conard. This was
about the first of April. What gave rise to this difficulty is not remem-
bered. A man by the name of Ennis, living with Mr. Cotton at the
time, reports that Mr. Cotton was standing in his house, before the
glass, shortly after supper, combing his hair, when a rifle fired from with-
out, sent a bullet through the back of his neck, tearing up the flesh about
half the depth of the thickness of the bullet. Mr. Cotton fell to the floor
and Mr. Ennis thought he was killed outright. On examination, it was
found to be only a slight flesh wound, which was soon dressed, and the
old gentleman, recovering from his fright, mounted his horse and accom-
panied by a servant, rode to Columbus that night, a distance of more
than twenty miles. Remaining with his family in Georgia about two
weeks, he returned to his place on the Little Uchee, where he remained
three or four days, during which time he made every effort to ascertain
who the assassin was that attempted his life. He “treated” the Indians
liberally with what they wanted. This was a decoy. He had not clue to
fasten suspicion on any one individual until all came up without any
apprehension of danger but Joe Conard, who fought shy and would not
come up at all. This confirmed Mr. Cotton’s suspicions to a positive cer-
tainty. A man by the name of Hurd was also living with Mr. Cotton at
ALABAMA HISTORICAL ‘QUARTERLY
and lose both? And thus, this liberal red man treated his four compan-
ions, by placing a dollar in the cup and having it filled up with whiskey.
About this time, Mrs. Thomas had prepared dinner. Sitting at dinner,
with his back to the door, the table being on the north side, he observed
through the spaces between the logs, about a dozen Indians running
round that side of the house. On looking around, he saw the yard was
full of Indians—not less than twenty. At this juncture, the red man who
sported the fine rifle and who had been so liberal with silver dollars, ran
into the house between the two beds and tried to hide under a dressing
table which stood against the wall. Several of the new comers rushed in,
seized and drug him out of the house, Uncle Blake followed them, to see
the fun, which appeared to him to be rapidly approaching a bloody issue.
Mrs. Blake, being in feeble health, was very much frightened, but re-
mained quietly in the house. A rope was demanded to tie him with, and
they were about to appropriate the ox rope, which was refused. They fi-
nally took a “larrup” (rope) from one of the mules and tied him securely.
On examination, four hundred dollars were found on his person, which
they took from him, and also the fine rifle. He was then carried about a
quarter of a mile from the house, on the trail which led from Moffett’s
Mill, west, which was called the Chewacla Trail, and tied him securely
across a large hickory log, which had been felled by the wind, and three
or four of his captors supplying themselves with a stout stick apiece, pro-
ceeded to administer the most terrible beating Uncle Blake ever saw in-
flicted upon a living creature—man or beast—that did not die from the
effects of it. They would beat awhile and talk awhile, the prisoner begging
all the while. After punishing him to their satisfaction, he was tied to a
pony and carried to the council house near Moffett’s Mill, previously re-
ferred toXIt afterwards appeared that a chief of some note, from one of
the lower towns on the Uchee, was on a visit in the neighborhood. Tus-
koo-na Fix-a-ko, at that date, lived about a mile from Antioch Church, on
land now owned by Messrs. James and Thomas Prince, and about a mile
and a half from Uncle Blake’s cabin. He was a chief of note himself, and
claimed the honor of the town around the council house. He commanded,
or led, the party that burned the stage on the line from Montgomery to
Columbus in 1836, near where Shiloh Baptist Church now stands. The
Little Uchee creek is quite shoaly both above and below the mill, and the
town referred to, situated near its southern bank, was called We-tum-ka,
which means “falling water.” :
The visiting chief was Tus-koo-na Fix-a-ko’s guest during his visit.
He carried a quantity of specie and a very fine rifle, all of which were
reraeprnst
SE TRE BOTT
VOLUME FIFTEEN—1953 283
the creek, it was found necessary to make a ford, and in ascending the
southern bank, the oxen “stalled.” Mr. Thomas left his wagon standing
in the creek and went up to the house, about three hundred yards out
on the table land, for a mattock to dig down the bank. Before reaching
the house, he observed several strange Indians approaching from another
direction, meeting them in the yard. He thought this unusual, but did
not appear to be at all surprised, and having mingled with the red men
sufficiently to speak their language understandingly, he explained his
situation at the creek, and requested them to go down with him and help
him out of his dilemma, which they readily agreed to do.— There were
five of them, and on returning to the creek and digging down the bank,
Uncle Blake asked the Indians to wade into the water behind the wagon
and “push,” while the oxen “pulled.” Here the Indians stalled too, even
before they got into the water. It appears that while Uncle Blake was
getting things ready, they had spied the nose of a “little brown jug” pro-
truding above the miscellaneous plunder in the wagon, and as a vessel
of that sort is always associated in the savage mind with a liquid for which
they indulged a strong weakness, they had held a private council among
themselves, and when asked to “take water,” broadly hinted that they
would take the whiskey first. Now, this whiskey was for the benefit of
Mrs. ‘Thomas, who was a bride of only a year and in delicate health, and
it was not prudent to give away his wife’s medicine, at the same time,
he knew that it would be not only imprudent but rash to refuse the In-
dians. So he took out the jug and treated them all round, after which
they all “took water” like ducks, and in less time than required to write
it, the wagon was up the bank and on hard ground. After reaching the
house, and the cattle ungeared, the Indians wanted another pull at the
“little brown jug.”
“We-waugh-we-hart-a-ho-la-wap.”
This meant that they had been in the water and got wet, which was
a mean or an unpleasant job, and hinted as broadly as before that as they
went into the water, that they must have more whiskey. They did not
get it so easy. One of those Indians sported a very fine silver-mounted
rifle, of exquisite finish, and appeared to be flush with silver dollars. This
Indian detached a small tin cup which hung to his belt, and placing dol-
lar in it, requested Uncle Blake to take out the dollar, put it in his pocket
and fill up the cup with whiskey. The cup held about one gill. Who
would not sell whiskey at a “dollar a gill,” particularly when it was not
quite certain that if he refused, he might have to sell his life to keep it,
+ sinter mpeg His Side
ae
JEFFERSON COUNTY.
1108 28th Street South, Apt. 1
Birmingham, AL 35205 ©
February 7, 1985 |
Mr. Watt Espy
School of Law Library
University of Alabama, Box 6205
University, AL 35486
Dear Mr. Espy,
at was so nice hearing from you after such a long time and to learn
that you still plugging along with your book on Capital punishment. Matter
of fact, somewhere in all my composition books I believe I have notes that I
jotted down for you on the execution of people, and then never sent to you.
I will try to see if they still exist, but after moving several times in the
last year or so, it may become a major task. (ih wegeetge EO hig? 44M A.)
The only information I had on the William Marks murder is what I
have in the Clarke County book with both names spelled other than the correct
way. Evidentally the writing was very atrocious and sloppy in the records in
the Courthouse and I copied the nameas "Maske" and "Harbert." I'm glad you
were able to connect them with the names given you by Dave Mathews. Dave was
a second or third cousin of mine, and although I never knew him well, I was
fascinated with all his knowledge of Clarke County history. He was been dearly
missed. Apparently he was incorrect in the date of the murder as Marks had to
have died probably in 1832 or earlier. I don't believe Horbert could have been
arrested and executed by Feb. 28, 1833 with any kind of a trial in just two
months and been written up in the county records. I wish I had found more on
this incident when I was doing my research, but it didn't show up in the ledgers
I was using. Perhaps more could be found in some other records in Grove Hill.
I was unable to find any Clarke County newspapers for that period so couldn't
learn anything from that source.
About a year or more ago I ran across the Sexton's Ledger for the
Southside Cemetery, later called Red Mountain Cemetery, which is nowLane Park,
Botanical Gardens and the Birmingham Zoo. Everytime we visit there we are
trampling along on 5,000 graves. All unmarked. Anyway, in the Sexton's records
there are a few executions listed, which you may or may not already have. The
data is as follows:
Alf Cooper, July 11, 1890 date of interment, death caused by hanging, Dr. H.N. Rosser
in charge, aged 25, male and black. This does not Say death is by legal execution.
Frank Cooke, interred July 1, 1899, executed by Sheriff for murder, Dr. Charles
Whelan, physician in charge, aged 23, mulatto.
Ben Elzy, interred April 18, 1890, Hung by order of court, Dr. H.N. Rosser, aged
22 sxe, male, black.
Philix Hall, interred Oct. 23, 1903, Hanged, Dr. Charles Whelan, age 35,Male, Black.
Sandy Jones, interred May 9, 1890, Hanged by law, Dr. H.N. Rosser, aged 22, male, black.
4
re
Bhs hi DMA Ral Spas oe NE
JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA, HANGINGS,
Ms
f
: & C
Birmingham, A labama, hangings,
Jim Walker, Jr., black, hanged in Birmingham on March 9, 1906, The rope had pulled so tightly
about his neck that for five minutes after he was pronounced dead, officers struggled to loosen
it. From the scaffold, he confessed that he alone murdered William De Hill and robbed him of
$22.15. He shot Hill on April 8, 1905, en a lonely path leading from Hill's home in rural
Jefferson County to Smythe's commisary about eight miles from Birmingham, Walker escaped to
Dallas County and was arrested there. Returned to Birmingham where he swore his father, Jim
Walker, Sr., had ordered him to kill Hill, Both were indicted. Jim Walker, Jr., was tried
first and received the death Sentence, Jim Walker, Sr., Wad sentenced to life imprisonment.
The son was a State's witness at his father's trial, but refuted his statment that his father
had forced him to kill Hill. hKefore he was hanged, Jim Walker, Jr., said his father was inno-
cent and that he had implicated him only because jx he thought that his father had turned him
in for killing Hill.
The Sirmingham NuwS, Birmingham Alabama, «larch 9, 1906,
’
ok ke ME ee
HH KH
Hw K HH HK
Harle Fletcher, black, hanzed at the Jefferson County Jail, Birmingham, on August 10, 1906 for
the murcer of Bob Payne, another negro in Flat Top Mines, Jefferson County, several months pre-
viously. fletcher, a 23-year-old black man, died of strangulation, The knot had slipped almost
directly under his chin, At the time of the killing, he was serving a 15-year term for killing
a black man named Harris at dlyton, Jefferson County. Prior to his execution, the Governor sent
a@ physician to the jail to EXSXX¥ test Fletcher's Sanity and the physician reported him sane.
From the allows, Fletcher made a statement in which he criticized the Judge for his refusal to
issue him a writxof habeas corpus after the Judge had issued a writa for a white man sentenced
to hang for murder, (irmingham News, August 10, 1906.) Payne was killed with a pick, A numoer
of other convicts witnessed the murder and testified against Fletcher at his trial, (3irmingham
News, June 30, 1906.)
The Birmingham havS, Birmingham, Ala,, XEXEK June 30, 1906 and August 10, 1906,
Robert Stone, black, hanged at the Jefferson County Jail, Sirmingham, on March 25, 190). He
had killed Guard William H, Thomas at the Coalburg Mines two years previously. He was a convict
working the mines, The crime occured in the Fall of 1902, Stone was serving a life sentence
for murder and was given a pistol by a free laborer working in the mines and with a numer of
other prisoners, he attempted to escape, shooting and killing William Henry Thomas, His first
conviction was reversed and he was tried a;ain. The second conviction was affirmed by the
State Supreme Court. His last words were: "My trouble is all over, This is what bad boys come
to. I have confessed my sins and am going to glory. let me have a word in silent prayer and
I am ready to go."
The Sirmingham NiwS, Birmingham, “la ama March 25, 190).
KKH KHHH HHH HR HH HHH HE
, NMG RRO AO ref eee tL LC a ae ae ete BOCES ETT thy Ree ee OE ET Cruces efrer cn TIA a ORR at
SOV A Ae a RVR Rane SS Lot ors fh ition cd ein 2° in ey ie CAPSS SIME SEEN AR MPO A : YASS
pe RRR Mey Let
q EY ARE BO
ays) RE th 2. wit dd RAL Y ‘SORES } &: y C )
Aa Ret aw Qua Braham, eth thanks, : As wap
bu.3 / 16 | 1970S. Ns Pe Q | Alben willl x Fane pee Pods C4
CA a arial: t Loeny THhrenolcl h tac Cr hey arkrconh OY Lendcl :
yi hive reno: if Got Vrake ‘ Lok fe ating PAGAC Ly! : (Sr atan line
is
tat z "Alan
5, Rees 2.2 Years ubol ee ee A prec A onrctheoart aa) LANL Cromeh gu abe abn
Lehwo Watered hel hut PYLOAMG Hung . (x OA CU olmwert whe .
- Mian ds Ana Corea ct (rex CL Oto \8 YVLE4 Ate. .
+f i | — Aes | OR ye es Atte diccl Coleree LUcontre ty “et Sicbanan
ps : tegthe. che hoe gmc Wain She oy Poot A) see
. Pole een tf Welded. cu, Le Oke Nunes « Corrcaperte
Want cet Proce ( yO ew ¥ heed poy rele « We ee col hoyle i An,
eek but Ang AfA+ atel Abe tbiny ee A Abe ln (che ULL
2 bee fen age % (Je Abt Aon EEK g bod S fives lem deal sh
AGE In a pours LN Se iliac zeke nen thing
~
eel
fe (2c diVer OVE OECD a Meo Neuse c ee a8 te Lig, Nee hdd et
wei pyreewrveas C2 Me (em | (stu Ont, Se where nd Aes d rae larch. a
Bess f Dine ean iea Pa hey tH~0 AW (¢ tile Joel Lf + 4 le ‘Qa (eel \
Ar berd doops eee vue So SL re & wey Ack. ie ARE raf ALA
Sek! es Obey renee To fort ( Wen
5 wean tlle Pde: as vere s/s of (Gos
2 ~
load J nn
*
{Reo ey
If Ocemat vis Mut ace Saree
FaLe Seas Loe gl Biases
ay eect ( Heke yo)
Opa Loe Uses Coy Gf oy Deed,
CL TYSON Re ee Fed, Veet fect
WW Ayn te VALARL oe ™m ky <
~ K ete oa oe
ee pe se
c Aik Coe he | Ee
eo Chee anaes pm Aide et ge hot t4___—
Wy Af
Qoill Set cares Ce |
York, his father Thomas York, Josiah Tilley, and a
Patrick Scott at Tuscaloosa, sometime in 1816, and that
Jonathan and Tilley married Patrick Scott’s daughters,
there, in that year. Of none of these people did I ever
from any quarter hear except of Jonathan, as I have ~
stated. You also, ‘credibly’ learn of an Emanuel York,
and John Barton, in Jones’? Valley, about 1817-’20,
which corresponds with Mr. Powell’s statement that
they were there from Tuscaloosa. It also appears that
Jonathan was a South Carolinian, and Emanuel a
Tennesseean, We learn from Mr, Powell’s ‘history’
that the Tennesseeans were the first to enter the
country, and that the South Carolinians did not come
until 1817 via Tennessee. The Tennesseeans had be-
come acquainted with the region, from invading it
under Jackson and Coffee, the latter’s troops having
made an excusion towards the Black Warrior towns, as
we learn from histories of the war. But I am inclined
to believe that Emanuel and Jonathan were brothers
(the Jewish similitude of their christian names some-
what indicates that), that they were both originally from
South Carolina, coming by Tennessee, as was then
common, (see Powell) and that they were sons of
Thomas York, (but of him?) Emanuel, I conjecture,
was the pioneer, and induced the others to follow.
By the way, I think (tho’ I am not certain) that Powell
told me that Emanuel York and Barton were brothers-
in-law, and that Barton, (like another Gretna-Green
blacksmith) performed that first marriage ceremony
at Tuscaloosa. Perhaps this was for one of Paddy
Scott’s daughters. I am anxious to learn something of
those two ‘fair young ladies,’ which your own state-
ments show connubialized at Tuscaloosa in 1816. It
is not likely that any record was officially made of
the nuptials, as all the region was then nominally in
Washington County, Mississippi Territory, and the
Court-house was near St. Stephens, more than two
hundred miles off, through a savage wilderness.
348
HISTORY OF PICKENTS COUNTY, ALABAMA, 1540-1920, by James F, Clanahans; Carrollton, ALE Cyanahan Publicat
These speculations as to ‘The House of York,’
are scarcely as dignified and important as Clarendon’s
and Hume’s upon a branch ofthe same subject, but they
are not unworthy of our investigation. I trust you will
settle them satisfactorily. Powell and Moody, and per-
haps Robert Jemison may aid you. I haveno access to
information here. I do not know Powell’s Post-office,
but suppose it is Blountsville.
As to who was the first settler of Tuscaloosa is
not important to our history but to quote Nelson F.
Smith’s inquiry into the subject is too important to
leave from the pages. He questioned William Lang and
Isaac Taylor, two of the earliest settlers of Pickens.
It was in the year of 1856 that he had these two men
in his presence and the results were as follows: ‘‘Mr.
Lang stated that he knew both Emanuel York and John
Barton in Jones’ Valley (Jefferson) where he himself
lived before he came to Pickens, but did not know of
his being any kin to Jonathan York of Pickens. Mr.
Taylor stated that he (Taylor) lived in Tuscaloosa,
and was then well acquainted with Jonathan York,
(the Pickens Jonathan) and his father Thomas, that he
never knew any Emanuel York in Tuscaloosa. He
thinks that if the Jones’ Valley and Tuscaloosa, or
Pickens Yorks were related, they must have been
distantly so.’’
It has already been stated that Josiah Tilly,
Jonathan York and John G, Ring were all son-in-laws
of Patrick Scott. That they all were married in the
years 1816-'17°18 and brought their wives to Pickens
county with them. The father of the wives soon followed
and all settled near Pickensville.
The first murder committed in Pickens county
was by a slave, Ben, who killed his own children and
stabbed his master, for which he was legallytried and
convicted, and was hung on the 15th day of May,
1830, at Pickensville, by the sheriff, Henry White,
The second killing within Pickens County took
place at Carrollton in 1831, one Richard Reed, a
349 ©
ions, 1965,
“WNVaVIV SXENN00 SNHMOTd
VEST ALABAMA
t every one of
, from too free
ink of a large
> square. His
1 to and fro,
1 in the early
n. Billy took
ywed his neck,
a, fortunately,
_ Jumping up
moniously and
' prepared for
him again.”
e following of
e of the three
The Doctor
‘riter to state,
white children
starting with
f \eenix
a hers,
f. —egular
tel.
e resident of
Idest myself.”
rejoinder.
‘ing his horse.
n?”?
ut never been
1 in Pickens,”
birth-right in
lest native of
0 correct his
O another, as
for the con-
TPR RT TPR IR I RET Ses ee ETT OO SRO RA SAP ag he Be ee eee
|
60, A Se NR ey A IRR et my np
Ooh we enpee:
Ane oh ae penne rg
PICKENS COUNTY, ALABAMA, @
HISTORY OF PICKENS COUNTY 125
tested honor appears on the stage,—James Fullerton by name, son of
William Fullerton, residents, both father and son, of Pickens county,
to this day.
The first murder committed in Pickens county was by a slave, Ben,
who killed his own children and stabbed his master, for which he was
legally tried and convicted, and was hung on the 15th day of May,
1830, at Pickensville, by Henry White, sheriff.
The second killing within Pickens county took place at Carrollton in
1831; one Richard Reed, a saddler, a peaceable and industrious man,
was imposed upon by a man temporarily here from Jefferson county,
by the name of John Adams, who was a sporting gentleman and a
quarrelsome character. Reed, without much ceremony, took his gun
and shot Adams dead, for which he had a regular trial and was
acquitted. It had been said that Reed was partially deranged, at
times.
About the same period, one Ezekiel Lancaster, killed a son of
Peter Williams, at Parker’s (Dunaho’s) mill, in a suddenly sprung
difficulty, while fishing, by striking him with a fish-gig; Lancaster
escaped.
In the fall of 1838, Joe Pruitt killed Berry Arnold—a quarrel aris-
ing at a neighborhood cider-drinking, in which Pruitt got badly
beaten, went directly to a house, took down a loaded gun, against the
wishes of the lady at home, who feared mischief, laid wait for Arnold
and shot him dead as he passed. Pruitt fled to Texas and was there
killed some years afterwards while a member of a Regulator-company
—on the side of law and order— and his murderer was killed by his
(Pruitt’s) son, a youth of seventeen years.—The gun with which
Arnold was shot may be still seen at Dudley Pruitt’s.
In the spring of 1834, Senator Rufus K. Anderson was shot dead in
the town of Pickensville, by the late Gideon B. Frierson, Esq. The
latter was not prosecuted, as it was an act of pure self-defense. This
occurence is fully noticed above, with attending circumstances.
The killing of Dr. William Wilson, in 1835, is referred to on page
126.
That year or the next one, James Fernandez killed Henry Gillam, at
Yorkville, in a momentary quarrel, begun in a good humored scuffle,
and the playing off of practical jokes among the crowd. Finding him-
self stabbed with a knife, Gillam said—“you have cut me, Jim, bad,”
and at that Fernandez supported him across the street all the time
expressing sorrow at what he had done and protesting that he did not
mean it.—Gillam laid down and died in a few minutes, and thereupon
lay
ie
ff
It was during Sheriff Long’s term of office that
Pickens was to have its first legal hanging since
1865.
At eleven o‘clock on the morning of December
22, 1897, Bud Beard, a negro, was led to the scaffold
that had been erected in the county jail. He was
neatly dressed in black clothes with white shirt and
collar. After a prayer and singing was over he was
then made ready for the execution. The black cap
was drawn over his face amid deep silence. Sheriff
Long, with a hatchet, struck the taut rope that sprung
the trap and in the twinkling of an eye the body was
precipitated through the air. Bud had expiated his
crime. On account of the extreme youth of the boy,
efforts were made to change the verdict, but the
governor would not intervene.
Mr. Burwell Boykin Salmond was appointed on
April 20, 1898 to serve out the unexpired term of
Sheriff R, C, Long. |
On August 6, 1900, Sheriff Salmond was the
successful candidate for the office of sheriff of Pickens
County. In the fall of 1904SheriffSalmond was forced
to give up the office due to bad health, and on November
15, 1904 Mr. R, B, Burgin received the appointment
to serve out the remaining term of Sheriff Salmond’s
tenure,
Sheriff B, B, Salmond was born December 29,
1862 and resided in the southern part of the county.
In the 1906 election Mr. R, B, Burgin was sucess-
ful in his bid for office of the sheriff. He was op-
posed in the primary election held August 27, 1906
by some of the most popular men in the county. In
the August 27 election the results were as follows,
Robert W. Beard 250 votes, R, B. Burgin 448, A, B,
Coleman 188, H. P, Richardson 136, Marion Strickland
267 and J. B, Walters 79. Sheriff Burgin made the
county an efficient officer and the older people of the
county had nothing but praise for him, While serving
in the office of sheriff, Mr. Burgin lived in the home
of a former sheriff, Mr. Tim P, Chapman.
204
gre reer |
In the May 1910 primary election the Democrats
had an outstanding number of popular menas candidates
for the office of sheriff. They were Mr. Sam E.
Williams of Springhill, Mr. Anthony W. Latham of
Carrollton, Mr, Benjamin W, Gunter of Palmetto, Mr.
D, C, Atkins of Reform and Mr. W. T. Manning of
Ethelsville. The results were: Atkins 395; Gunter
364; Latham 369; Manning 236 and Williams 365.
As can be seen Mr. D. C. Atkins won the election to
represent the Democratic party in the November
election, but on September 24, 1910 Mr. Atkins passed
away, a victim of typhoid fever, at his home in Reform,
So on October 3, 1910 another primary election was
held and Mr. Gunter, Latham and Mr. Williams were
the candidates for the office of sheriff once again.
The results of that October election were Mr. Gunter
with 708 votes, Latham with 300 and Williams with
290, thus assuring Mr. Gunter’s election in Novem-
ber since he did not have an opponent.
Sheriff Gunter was born in Vails beat, Pickens
County, Alabama. He was thesonofMr. M. G. Gunter
and the grandson of Dr. Peter Gunter, one of the
earliest settlers of north Pickens. Sheriff Gunter was
a straight forward man, courteous in his manners, but
firm in his beliefs. Prior to Sheriff Gunter’s leaving
the office of sheriff he accepted a position with the
U. S. Government, as a U.S. Deputy Marshall. This
position required his moving to the city of Tuscaloosa
where he resided the remainder of his life.
In November 1914 Mr. A, B, Coleman, better
known as ‘‘Gus’’ was elected the sheriff of Pickens
County. He had defeated Mr. A, V. Gibson on May 11,
1914 by a majority of 85, in the Democratic primary,
assuring his election. Sheriff Coleman held several
positions with the county prior to his election. He
operated the poor house, was county jailer, andserved
as a depty sheriff. He was well liked by the people of
the county, but he , like many other good men, could
not resist the goods doled out in the saloons. In fact
205
Re @
Dear Watt:
At long last I believe I have the information which you need on
Albert Jackson, and you can drop him from your list. Yes, he and Sid
Lester (Lesten?), his victim, were both black.
In the Marion newspaper, dated Nov. 23, 1905, it states that on
October 31, 1905, Lesten was ambushed and shot in the right side "from
ten paces with a shotgun."
"According to deputy sheriff Scott, Mr. Lester and McCulley
went to the home of Frank Henderson, colored, to collect
Some money due them, having learned that he (Henderson)
was planning to move. While engaged talking to Henderson,
Jackson stepped from behind a tree some 10 paces away and
fired upon Mr. Lester. After this Henderson attempted to
hit Mr. McCulley with a pail when he was fired upon by Mr.
McCulley.
Another article stated that Jackson and Henderson were brothers, and
that Jackson was captured near Hattiesburg, Miss., on Dec. 29, 1905 (no
mention of Henderson). In his preliminary trial on January 11, 1906,
Jackson confessed to the murder, but stated that "Lester struck his brother,
he (Jackson) went inside and got a shotgun, and shot Lester while near a
tree, and tried to shoot McCulley, but the breach locked and he ran."
The court decided that Jackson should hang at session on Feb. 13.
The March 29th newspaper stated that Jackson and another prisoner attempted
to escape from the jail on the 27th, but were soon re-captured. This
issue added: "A petition has been filed with the Governor to commute the
sentence to life inprisonment..."
The issue of April 12, 1906, stated that the Supreme Court upheld the
lower court's decision to hang Jackson on May 25, but added that the de-
cision was up to the Governor."
To terminate our little drama, the newspaper of May 10, 1906, stated:
"Governor Jelks stated on May 9, that Jackson would not be hung, but
would spend hbhe remainder of his life in the penetentiary. Many prominent
Perry county people said in a petition that he was in a 'measure justified,’
and that life imprisonment would be just punishment."
February 4, 1984
Sorry that it took so long to get this information for you, but I
have simply been bogged down with classes. I have not even had time to
write to McFarland and Company, but plan to do so this weekend. Good
luck on your grant.
Sincerely,
bloat Prva
‘
VOLUME FIFTEEN—1953 449
tribunals before his arrest, the heads of a hundred households being the
judges, their wives and children comprising the juries. This process,
though it has precedents as far back as history reaches, is dangerous to
any community where organic law exists. I will add one more observa-
tion here. Judge Lynch puts in an appearance in all communities and
countries during and immediately following the close of civil war, and in
all periods and countries where the legal machinery is slow and uncertain.
And even these palliations do not justify “mob law,” so called, in a civi-
lized country.
Russell county never lacked for legal talent of the highest grade, or
the crude element of which it was in after years the outcome, as an ex-
amination of the local bar will prove. In this list I find the names of
Thomas S. Tate, Judge of Probate for Russell county several years and
afterwards representative in the legislature from Macon county; Judge
Solomon Hydenfeldt; J. C. Alford, a son of Hon. J. C. Alford, the famous
“war horse of Troup” in the Georgia legislature; Ealan Eiland; C. Kemp;
E. A. Reid; Latham & Speaker; (Milton S. Latham of this firm went to
California, was elected to Congress, later Governor of the State, and fin-
ally United States Senator for a full term of six years; the last heard of him
he was one of the wealthiest bankers on the Pacific coast); W. E. Bar-
nette; L. F. McCoy, who represented his county in the legislature; George
D. and George W. Hooper; R. W. Howard; W. H. Weems; Augustus
Owens; H. Bellamy; P. A. Woods; J. M. Phillips; B. H. Baker, who repre-
sented his county in the legislature; J. Cheney; S. Leary; J. A. Lewis, for
some years Judge of Probate; Lyman H. Martin; Wilson Williams, for
some years Judge of Probate for Lee county; W. J. Underwood, Bryant
Duncan; James F. Waddell, and others.
According to the best availabie information all of these resided and
opened offices in Crawford at various dates, embracing longer or shorter
periods, during the history of the place as the capital of “old Russell.”
Some of them are still in sight, doing honorable service, and in a later
chapter will pass in review before the reader. Some of them have passed
to the “higher court.”
During this period several negroes were publicly hanged in Craw-
ford, one of which hangings, that of a man named Dick, for murdering his
master, Mr. Yancy, near Salem, about 1850, was witnessed by the writer;
and I must say that it did not create a taste for such exhibitions. “Gol-
gotha Hill,” half a mile north of the town and east of the cemetery, was
“ib aplasia iq orga atest. Me Rte ie po 1B apie A ao Es
oe Sart st aes» cetera carte ipaitace pie %
t % ie See t
kee A eC
ag mre neat te
ee
450 ALABAMA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
thescene, and it was “enjoyed” by a vast concourse of both sexes and
Joy if
colors..
Miho Crawford cemetery is located half a mile or more northwest of
the town. The first interment, as now remembered by the living, was the
remains of Mrs. Wayne, daughter of Mr. Padgett. This is all that is
known, as no stone marks the spot and all who witnessed it have moved
away or died.
Nature has been liberal in supplying the material for a high devel-
opment of beauty and attractiveness for this “city of the dead,” which con-
tains the ashes of some of the best men and women of their day. In June,
1884, the writer visited this spot and spent several hours in solitary mus-
ings in communion with the memories of the olden time which the sur-
roundings recalled.
When it is remembered that Crawford, during the early years of its
growth, was surrounded by sparsely settled neighborhoods, being located
in a pine region and the land being in little demand so long as lands of a
higher grade were available in the county, it is easy to account for the
proverbial healthiness of the place and also for its slow growth, never
reaching a permanent population of over two hundred. Hence, though
it has been more than forty years since the first grave was opened, I do
not suppose that more than sixty persons have found sepulture in this
cemetery since that time. For the benefit of those living far and near who
have friends buried here I will place on record those graves which are
marked and can be identified. A small, neat marble slab bears the follow-
ing inscription:
“Anderson, son of F. G. and S. Jones, died Oct. Ist, 1887, aged 14
m. ‘Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of
>”
such is the Kingdom of Heaven.
The father of this little one was brutally murdered in Auburn, in
the presence of his family a few years ago. The mother, a sister of Mr.
John Buchanan, still resides there.
“Sarah M., daughter of John M. and Anna P. Rutledge; died Oct.
1861, aged 7 years.
466 ALABAMA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
neighborinig farms, and was employed at intervals to help them up to
the season with their crops. He remembers that there was a field in his
locality called the “Esko field,” said to be cleared by this Indian. It was
{ree from roots, and young Benton being at that time scarcely strong
enough to guide a plow properly in a fresh new ground, his employer
would say: “You go to the Esko field to plow; there are no roots there
and the plowing is easy.”
Returning to recollections of the school, it is remembered that Pro--
fessor Sanders did not tarry in Salem long, failing to please either him-
self or his patrons, it is not stated which. Miss Sarah Jones, afterwards
Mrs. Judge Heydenfeldt, who died at sea on her way to California; Miss
Artemesia Jones; Jack Cotton; Miss Mary Davis, afterwards Mrs. Brad-
ford Harris; Ulysses Yancy; Milton Yancy; James Askew; Ben Askew and
J. L. R. Smith also were contemporary classmates about this date. It was
Ulysses Yancy’s father who was murdered by one of his servants, the mur-
derer suffering the extreme penalty of the law in Crawford in 1850 or
1851. I am taking these notes in a room of the basement of the old jail,
just beneath the cell which Dick, the murdered, was led out to the scaf-
fold by Deputy Sheriff Calhoun. I remember witnessing this execution.
About 1844 or 1845 Mr. Benton bought from Daniel McDougal what
is now known as the Digby place, three miles south of Mott's mill, pay-
ing $370 for the quarter section. There was on the place a small cabin,
built by one of the Duncan boys, who lived there one year previous. There
were also a few acres of cleared land. I believe this was the first invest-
ment in real estate the family had made after a sojourn in the county of
twelve years. After improving the place materially they sold out to advan-
tage to Mr. William White, but Judge Harrison Tate was the real pur-
chaser. The latter occupied the place a year or two, and was followed by
Mr. Vandy Sturky and others until 1866, when it fell into the hands of
Mr. Augustus Digby, the present owner, who lives in Browneville.
In 1851 the Benton family moved to the Boyd place, east of Mr.
James Harris, and in 1854 to Crawford, purchasing a store and stock of
goods from Mr. Jerry Segar and commencing business as dealers in general
merchandise, where Mr. Henry Benton has been ever since. Of his two
brothers Frank, as before stated, died in Mexico, and Jett T. was in Texas
when last heard from by his sisters. Mrs. Amanda Wilkerson, wife of Mr.
Ezra Wilkerson, lives in Tallapoosa; Mrs. Margaret Powers, widow of Mr.
John Powers, lives in Columbus; Mrs. Sarah A. Shirley, widow of Mr.
SHELBY COUNTY, ALABAMA,
OLD PAPER GIVES INTERESTING FACTS
ABOUT COLUMBIANA
TOWN HAS BEEN COUNTY SEAT FOR OVER GONE HUNDRED YEARS
The Reporter was in error in some respects last week in
the statement about the old court house and through the
kindness of J. L. Peters is able to make the correction.
Mr. Peters found a portion of a special edition of the
COLUMBIANA SENTINEL that contains a "Concise History of
Columbiana" written by himself that contains a great deal
of interesting and valuable information.
Tt was in 1825 that the question cf moving the court
house from its first location near Siluria to a more
central location came up. The election was held in 1826,
Columbiana winning over Montevallo by a small majority.
For 101 years then, from 1826 to 1927, Columbiana has
been the county seat of Shelby County.
The First court house in Columbiana was an old wooden
school building that stood near the site of what is now
called the “old courthouse." This wooden building served
as the court house about twenty eight years. In 1854 while
John ™. McClanahan was probate judge. the commissioners
court made an order for the building of a new court house.
Tt was Built that same years and consisted of two large
rooms with two smaller ones in front as the first floor
with one large room above for a court room. The larger
offices were used by the probate judge and the circuit
Clerk, the smaller one being used by the sheriff and
register in chancery.
There were no jury rooms, no vestibules, nothing in
front except a small platform projecting out from the upper
story on which the sheriff stood toa call court. The
contractors for this “imposing structure and temple of
gustice”™ were McCan and Williamson, who received $2,500.
The Building was not changed til i881 while Jas. Tf.
Leeper wa probate judge when a vestibule was Built in front
and a grand jury room at the rear.
The following interesting reference to the county jail
is made in Mr. Peter*s article: The first jail was Buiit in
i826, a iog building and poorly constructed. A man named
Caldwell being incarcerated there bored auger holes through
the wall and escaped. This same man afterwards killed an
Indian and was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang.
He was carried by the sheriff to the hollow back of the
town graveyard and all things made ready for the execution
of the criminai. While crocodile tears were coursing their
way down his checks a reprive from the governor was
i eae ee ae
era
Latte
hy
a ot te
“Mrs. Chubbuck were living in quietude and hap-
Ba ah
118 HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY
X
out a second time but went blind again and was soon” =
caught and put back. He was tricd in court and :
hanged. He was the first man to be hanged in the
county. : ;
All the foregoing has been accepted as facts by
aged men now living. whose veracity is unquestioned.
They buried Fitch on the side of the mountain, put
some rocks around the grave and cut his name on ‘a-
tree nearby. Men now living have seen the grave.
Cas Wess KiLtep Turee Broruers
In the early eighteen and eighties, near Coffeytown
on the south side of the Tennessee River, on. the
Jackson and Marshall County line was a saloon. — In
a drunken fight, Cas Webb killed three Willborn
brothers. He escaped but ‘was finally arrested,
brought back and tried, and was acquitted on the
plea of self defense. He went to Texas at once after
his acquital, to live.:
Mr. L. D. (Dow) Wilborn, of Langston, a brother
of the three Willborn brothers who were killed, is
now living at a ripe old age, honored and respected
by everyone. aoa
Triple Hanainc, Aucust 1, 1884
In 1856, Henry Porter came from: New York to die,”
as he ind his friends thought, of a lingering disease, ©
amid the mountains of North Alabama. After a few.
months’ stay, invigorated by, the pure air of Jackson _
County, his health began to improve rapidly and he
entered on a new lease of life. He purchased land
and built a handsome residence on a commanding
bluff on the Tennessee River, not far from Bridge-—
port on Sand Mountain, now known as Porter’s Bluff,
The location was beautiful and healthful, the home”
was furnished handsomely. Here. Mr. and Mrs.
Porter, Miss Sue Z. Standish, Mrs. Porter's sister, and==
|
piness, beloved and_ respected by their neighbors,
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY 119
until the night of the great tragedy which robbed
them of their beautiful home.
On Sunday evening, March 25, 1883, about dark
they were startled by the reports of fire arms near
the home. Looking out, they saw under the ever-
greens three or four men. Onc shot passed through
the front door, quickly followed by other shots, and
the yells of the marauders were heard. They came
in and demanded $500. There being no money in
the house, it could not be given them. They set fire
to the house and Mr. Porter and family had to flee in
the darkness to keep from being killed or roasted
‘alive.
George and Asbury Hughes and John Grayson were
arrested shortly after this crime and put in jail at
Scottsboro, and remained there until their trial in
June the next year. George Smith was not arrested
until shortly before the trial. He was captured in
Tennessee, after having been shot, and was brought
to Alabama for trial. Smith was a bad man and had
Ailled a Mr. Strect before this house-burning. The
Hughes boys were about 18 and 20 years old, re-
spectively. Their father lived in Rhea County, Ten-
nessec,
The counsel for the defense were Gen, Loy FP,
Walker of Huntsville, Mr. Allen of Rhea County,
Tenn., Judge Haralson of DeKalb, R. C. Hunt and
Judge Coulson of Scottsboro. The attorneys for the
prosecution were, Hon. J. E. Brown of Scottsboro,
Capt. L. W. Day of Huntsville, and Solicitor Jones.
H. C. Speake was the trial judge. All the accused
protested their innocence to the very last minute.
The jury returned a verdict of guilty, and sentenced
George Smith, George and Asbury Hughes to be
hanged, and John Grayson to the penitentiary for
life. Their cases were appealed to the higher court,
but were confirmed. Interest in this trial was great:
the excitement was intense; serious trouble was
PINE Mate
Lt |
eee NIET VAANIOU ty
*
s
RAO ete oe
FAS Al BS” sa Re AAD DS tote So) ede ty Bl OP OTRO eed Be RAED
‘been more grossly misrepresented over the entire
CHAPTER XXIII.
Some Great Court Trials
Tuere have been far too many killings in° this
county, in fact, one murder is more than any people
should have. Notwithstanding, we are noworse
than those about us in this Nation. There is no de-
sire to hold up before the coming gencrations the
evils of the past, but in justice to ourselves and a
proper regard for the truth, it is desired that three or
four of the most outstanding Court Trials be dis-
cussed briefly. No county in the United States has
world than the County of Jackson. When the gentle
zephyrs of the last Spring of time kiss the hallowed
soil of Old Jackson County and sway the lonely forest
pine, the evil done us—a proud, virtuous and peace-
loving people—by the ignorant and vicious propa-
gandist, will still be held in the “Scottsboro Case”.
The writer shall not endeavor to describe this case.
for obvious reasons, since it has not yet been settled
and is too new to receive a fair historical treatment.
It'surcly was an evil day for the people of this county
when that freight train on that fatal day, March 29,
1931, passed through the county carrying a dozen or
more negroes, some white men and two white women.
In the opinion of our people there is not the least
shade or shadow of doubt as to the guilt of the ac-
cused negroes. The Southern people were making
slow but steady progress in properly handling the _
race question between the whites and blacks.” This
unfortunate affair has sect back the good feeling be-
tween the races a decade and advanced greatly the
spirit of mob violence among many of our. citizens,
The details of the ease will be left to be told by. some ‘
future historian. .
116
"ville.
trial just as it has been given to the writer by reliable
‘ye oy ae 5 ere pee + 0 et a6 ‘ .
vr. ss KAZ $ susp hae en
Ree A Pe a ae ee i
th
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY 117
Tue First, HANGING
*~ We have by tradition an account of the first murder
ee in Paint Rock Valley and the first hanging in the
county. There are some details of the story: that
seem to be fanciful and to lead one to believe the
hanging was done in Decatur County, at Old Wood-
We shall give an account of this murder and
men.
On the head of Lick Fork Creck, at a very early
date, two men, one named Fitch, the other named
--- Williams, were out hunting on the west side of the
s-ereck upon the top bench of the mountain. The
‘final proof showed that Williams shot Fitch and
- killed him.
= Fitch failed to show up, the people thought maybe
= Williams had killed him, for it was known they had.
When Williams went back home and
had some trouble, but had made up and Fitch thought
everything was all right. So Williams was arrested
and made to go and show where they went to hunt.
The officers hunted about over the side of the moun-
tain for quite a time, until they finally heard a dog
bark. They went to the dog, which proved to belong
to Mr. Fitch, who was lying there cold in death. Fis
dog had stayed with his lifeless body all this time.
Oh, that men and women would show this fidelity in
all relations of life! |
The hunters uscd rifle guns and moulded their own
bullets and kept-in their shot-pouch a piece of cloth
off of which they would cut what they called patchen
to put around the bullet. The officers found the
patch that had been on the bullet that killed Fitch.
It was like the cloth Williams had in his shot-pouch.
Williams had a trial and they sent him to jail, which
tradition says was in Old Woodville. This jail was
not a very strong house; Williams got out but went
blind and failed to get away, so he was caught and
put back. He regained his sight in the jail and got
Sun shes hen! poy rome otanipemee
ee #4. te
— *
Shar srtunegeren ney paoncracgpapranee
Re ena
Bee Fea he oem ween cere
SS dead SL,
oa
en sot ery et ee ER HE
“et oat :
snes. 4 neti
erytertys
prs
BEY tometer meres
: Se
_ “Gentlemen, I want to call your attention to.some
Many threats to release the prisoners were heard in
120 HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY
narrowly averted. The Sheriff, Thos. J. Robinson, ~
called in a strong force of guards. When the day
arrived for the execution, the town was full of people.
the crowd, Many thought the sentence too severe.
Others thought them innocent and that Governor
O’Neal would, at least, give a short respile and the.
hanging would be postponed. They thought this
especially on account of the extreme youth of the
Hughes boys and since at the last, Hon. J. E. Brown,
who had helped prosecute them, had wired the Gov-
ernor to stay the execution, but the Governor refused
and the execution was carried out. As the last
lingering hope of the condemned trio was dispelled,
they began to make some preparations for death. *
They firmly denied to the last, knowing anything | ;
about the Porter house burning. “ee §
They requested to be baptized by immersion, so at)
11 o’clock J. J. Beeson, of the Baptist Church, im-—
mersed them all in a bath tub in a room adjoining
the cells. At the request of the prisoners the Sac-
‘ament was administered. ee
i \ = ;
While these scenes were going on in the jail, the
crowd outside became very restless Ind frequent de-
mands were made that the prisoners be allowed to —
speak. The sheriff brought to the window George
Hughes, who spoke with great earnestness, saying:
facts. I have been treated\badly. I have bten-con-
victed and am innocent. If you hang me, you hang
an innocent man. IT was a quarter of a mile below-
Shellmound the night-of-the burning. I hope ithe
people of Jackson County will never hang another
innocent man. I hope you all will /meet mee
heaven.” . 7
oe
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY 121
Smith spoke next and said: “I want to say that I
; have got to die today but am innocent. I have done
some things but didn’t do this. You must live re-
ligiously and do right. Goodbye.”
' Asbury Hughes said: “Gentlemen, I am going to
dic, but I will tell the truth and God is my witness.
3 «I am innocent of the Porter house burning. When
2 # you pull my neck for that, you hang an innocent
ee man. I advise all young men to slay at home and
not go out at night. This is all I have to say.”
After the 51st Psalm was read, a prayer offered
» and a song, “There ts a Fountain Filled With Blood,”
ae Was sung, the prisoners were led to the scaffold. The
%. crowd around the jail surged up to the fence and
many yelled over the fence, “Tear down the: enclos-
ure, we want to see the law carried out.” The guards
formed in line with guns presented. L. F. Whitten,
the Methodist minister, and Judge Tally made short
‘speeches to the crowd. The deputy sheriff, John C.
Johnson, cut the rope and the prisoners were hurled
into cternity. According to the Montgomery Adver-
tiser, “This is the first instance in which a white man
was executed for arson in Alabama.”
This trial and hanging had its influence in the
next general election in the county and as a result,
the regular Democratic ticket was defeated by In-
dependents.
t
Om fom es A ~ We eng Decale,
OG Lee Ln ce Aw ee
a fe
Sep Rg AD RES ORR OS
SERS es
“
Oe
ERR eet See
res
2ST AES
A-5
THE DECATUR DAILY
SUNDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 18, 1981
Hangings, history
spur Somerville
to fix courthouse
By FREIDA STEWART
. DAILY Staff Writer
SOMERVILLE — It was Dec. 30, 1887. Gus Ed-
mundson had confessed to killing his “crazy” wife
and a crowd was waiting to watch him hang.
He was hanged in the courtyard in front of the
Morgan County Courthouse.
That was considered a public hanging.
J.R. Ransom, a life-long resident of Somerville
and current owner of the county jail, which with the
old courthouse is being renovated, said he
remembers his mother telling him about the inci-
dent. His mother’s sister was upset about the hang-
ing — mainly because it was on her 15th birthday.
Back in those days there were different types of
hangings. There were public hangings, like the one
just described, private hangings and secret hang-
ings.
Bob Raines died in a private hanging, which took
place in the back yard of the jail, Ransom said.
Raines was found guilty of killing his brother, he
said. The two were from around Danville, but had
been visiting one of the saloons in Somerville. On the
way home in a buggy one night, Raines stabbed his
brother to death.
Charlie Griffin, a black man, died in a secret
hanging, Ransom said. Residents decided Griffin
was guilty of robbing an old woman named Martha
Grizzard, so they took him out of the jail and hange?
him.
- One night the woman who kept the keys to the jail
was told by the sheriff, who happened to be her son,
to leave the keys to the jail on the edge of the table
and leave the door unlocked, Ransom said.
When the woman questioned that, she was told
that residents intended to hang Griffin — one way or
another.
She did as she was told, Ransom said. The next
morning a couple on their way to the county cour-
thouse to get a marriage license found Griffin's
body hanging from a tree.
There haven’t been any hangings in Somerville,
or anywhere else in Morgan County, for a long time,
but the history remains.
“arma nna even the-reattante nt Snmnrvittn ay
number of things, none of which are definite. The
most prevalent idea is to use the building as a com-
munity center, where local groups can have
meetings. That might include a game room, Stroub
said, to give local young people a place to go.
The committee has discussed allowing a govern-
ment agency to rent office space in the building, he
said.
At one time the Morgan County Board of Educa-
tion discussed buying the courthouse from Somer-
ville and renovating it for an office building, but
decided to buy the house on Alabama 67 just outside
of Decatur.
“Tt's got a lot of potential,” Stroub said.
In the meantime, workers have replaced broken
windows in the building. Stroub said signs will be
posted on all four sides of the building warning that
anyone. Caught damaging the area will be pro-
secuted.
That’s a long way from the day when a circuit
court judge ordered a local attorney to give a man,
charged with a number of things, the best advice he
could, Ransom said.
The attorney took his new client into a room in the
southeast corner of the courthouse and told the
defendant to jump out the window and run for it,
because if he didn’t he was going to be hanged, Ran-
' som said.
The man followed his advice and was never
caught.
Stories about Somerville’s courthouse antics end
around 1891, when the courthouse was moved from
Somerville to Decatur, Ransom said.
It was apparent that Somerville would lose the
county seat it had held since 1831, but both Hartselle
and Decatur wanted it, Ransom said.
There were two hotels at Somerville, but Decatur
had a railroad, the Tennessee River and some en-
thusiastic backers.
One night a group of them loaded up all the cour-
thouse records and hauled them by wagon to
Decatur.
Thus the courthouse was officially moved, Ran-
som said.
TEN Morden Crnt] History hank written te fone
S
5
Q)
:
aise
wt
SOREN Tee Hy
“WAVEVIV *X:
aes
¥
wie
We Ud ds SHE Wds LOG, NdMsOM Sdld. ine next
i So a couple on their way to the county cour-
mouse to geted marriage license found Griffin’s
Mark body hanging froma tree.
There haven't been any hangings in Somerville,
or anywhere else in Morgan County, for a long time,
Kulaw -, - but the history remains.
they want to Basen’ tneved Pe eee”
18
for their fi permanent cour-':
Théjail, owned Gr Rais or. ney past 40 years,
still stands next door to the courthouse... ._
“Ithas' changed Hands only three times since the
county seat was moved to Decatur, he said.
It was first bought by M.T. Swift,’a former sheriff,
sister-in-law, who operated a post Office from the
building. — H
There were many escapes over the years, ‘Ran-
som said. 2
He recalls his mother telling him when her cousin
_W.T. Morrow was sheriff, a prisoner “just ran over
_ him” when Morrow and the jailer unlocked and
opened the cell door to put food in. 3
Ransom began renovating the jail, which
resembles a house, after 1975, when the town started
work onthecourthouse. ~
In 1974 a Repair Fund committee was formed to
raise money for courthouse renovation, committee
member Paul Stroub said.
Work actually started in 1975, when the belfry
atop the building was painted.
Also in 1975 residents went in at night and caught
David Ladd, left, and Paul Humerick paint shutters
}
eS
Stroub said. The birds were taken to the flea market
at Lacon and sold.
In 1978 the roof was painted.
Overall, about $4,600 has been raised so far from
contributions as small as $1, Stroub said.
Paul Humerick, a committee member and a con-
tractor, has estimated it will take $75,000 to com-
pletely redo the inside of the courthouse and finish
the outside, Stroub said.
To get that money, Stroub said he plans to ask
. businesses in the county to donate money.
The group has checked into getting federal mat-
ching funds, but Stroub said whenever the commit-
tee had the money the government didn’t. Now
there is no federal money available.
Part of the money will be raised in the second an-
nual Halloween night “Haunted Courthouse.”
Committee member Wesley Cain said the event
will get under way at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 31.
The hanging judge will hold court and, Cain said,
he'll properly scare everyone.
Other activities and concessions will be available.
But the big event is upstairs at the courthouse.
“area, complete with ghouls and goblins, Cain said.
Admission to the different events will be charged,
he said.
Last year the “‘Haunted House” raised about $300.
- In addition to the Halloween activities, the town
will raise money Nov. 14 in a celebration on the
~ Courthouse square honoring Priceville artist Julia
Clendenon.
* Miss Clendenon has done paintings of the cour-
'. thouse and will be selling prints of it and other
buildings that day. :
The other buildings include the jail, Peck House
- and the White House, which served temporarily as
Morgan County’s first courthouse.
Peck House was once owned by Dr. Cicero Fain
Peck, the doctor who delivered Ransom. He died a
76-year-old bachelor in 1938.
The White House, located near Cotaco, was the
first courthouse. in the county, though Somerville
was the firstincorporated county seat.
Part of the proceeds from each print sold will go
to the renovation fund, Miss Clendenon said.
=, $om said.
That's one reason the residents of Somerville say | :
Mcrnabe Canny ap ;
Ransom said: He sold it to Mrs. Emma Harlan, his.
“about 200 pigeons that were living in the belfry, “>
The entire top floor is converted into a haunted _
nad a rauroad, the Tennessee River and some en-
thusiastic backers.
One night a group ofggme loaded up all the cour-
thouse records and them by wagon to
Decatur.
Thus the courthouse was officially moved, Ran-
A Morgan County history book written by Jonni)
Kroy seys ‘OnFeb 10 189} the Legislature passed }
An act.to change the seat of Morgee eee ise an 4 i
» election was held fo dete
_. Decatur was chosen...
oe
more, the regular police increased, planters were asked to
keep their blacks out of the city at night; the Christmas ball
of the “Black Band” was called off, and the city lamps were
lit for a month.*®
Not all the violence between black and white Mont-
gomerians was bound up in the institutional defense of the
social system. There was enough spontaneous personal
violence to keep Montgomerians of both hue aware that the
peculiar institution was filled with danger. In 1842, John
Patterson was convicted by a jury of assault with intent to
kill a slave named Abram.®* In November 1843, Nancy, a
slave of Parker Beasley, was convicted of assault to kill Mary
Beasley. Nancy, tried by a jury made up of two thirds
slaveholders, was sentenced to hang.” In 1847, Jesse, a
slave owned by Rebecca Carr, killed an overseer, a man
named Logan. When Logan threatened to whip the slave,
Jesse drew a knife and threw it at the overseer. Then he
picked up a piece of rail with which he struck Logan “and
continued to strike him ten or twelve blows.”7! That same
year, a slave named Joseph was indicted by the circuit court
for assault with intent to kill a white person, and a white
man named Tidwell was indicted for the murder of a
slave."* The next year, the overseer of L. Q. C. DeYampert
was attacked and seriously injured by DeYampert’s slaves.
Another slave, Fassau, was indicted by the court with
assault with intent to kill a white person.”
In the year 1854, there was unusual interracial violence.
A runaway slave of Judge Shorter turned and attacked his
captors and was shot to death.74 When Robert Smith
attempted to discipline one of his slaves, the slave drew a
——
§* Young, “A Social and Economic History,” 49-50, 66.
** Montgomery County Circuit Court, Criminal Docket.
7° 4labama Journal, November 15, 1843. See also, Nancy, a slave v. the State, 6 Ala 483.
"Weekly Flag and Advertiser, March 26, 1847: Tri-Weekly Flag and Advertiser, ‘May 18, 1 847.
Tri-Weekly Flag and Advertiser, May 18, 1847.
3 Ibid., June 17, December 7, 1848.
™ Advertiser and State Gazette, May 17, 1854.
226 THE ALABAMA REVIEW
knife and “made a ferocious attack.” Mrs. Smith tried to
yrevent her husband being killed and was also attacked.
Both the Smiths received severe wounds.’® The slave was
tried and executed.7®-That year, Henry T. Gates, the
overseer for Crawford Hatcher was brutally murdered
near Montgomery in September. Gates had gone down to
his hog pens at night to try to catch some slaves he
suspected of stealing hogs. He was found the next morning
in the hog lot, “his brains beat out, skull broken, and body
very much mangled.”"*
The most brutal episode of racial violence in Montgom-
ery County occurred in August 1854. After Dr. MacDonald
of Mount Meigs punished one of his slaves for disobedi-
ence, the slave ran into the stable. Later, when MacDonald
went into the stable to get his horse, the slave clubbed the
doctor to death. The slave gave himself up, but the citizens
from the surrounding neighborhood were so aroused that
the next day they publically burned him alive. After the
lynching, they raised enough money to match the value of
the slave and gave it to the MacDonald family.™
In January 1855, two slaves were publicly executed In
Montgomery for killing a master and his wife.”? In 1858 a
man named Harris and in 1859 a man named Frazier were
indicted for killing slaves.8° Also in 1859, four slaves
belonging toSam Murrell were charged with the murder of
Wade F. Owen.*! Finally, in 1860, two blacks, Robin, a
twenty-two-year-old field hand and John, a house servant,
were shot. The same year, Alfred Jones was killed by two of
his slaves, Adam and June.*?
SIbid., August 30, 1854.
® Blue, City Directory, 65; and Sellers, Slavery, 255.
" Montgomery Advertiser, October 11, 1854.
“ Sellers, Slavery, 262.
” Advertiser and State Gazette, January 20, 1855. :
- Montgomery Advertiser, September 15, 1858, and February 2, 1859.
" Ibid., February 9, 1859.
"U.S. Bureau of the Census, Fighth Census... Persons who Died During .. . 1860. See also,
Blue City Directory, 66.
@ jury, 1974 : 227
EL RROLE PT ea ee
Alabama and of Southern violence, has suggested that the
entire pattern of violence in the South can be explained asa
reaction to a perception of a social environment that is
malevolent and fraught with potential danger.°®
For the white minority in Montgomery, there was the
ever present fear of a black insurrection. The city ordi-
nances that dealt with the slave population revealed this
fear. The thrust of these regulations was to minimize the
amount of time that the black was not under direct white
supervision. The daylight hours of the six working days
presented no substantial difficulty. The times of danger
were the night and Sunday when little work was being done
and supervision was at a minimum. These were the times
when slaves might gather and foment rebellion.*?
Thus Montgomery had its black curfew. Every night,
Charles Lvell reported in 1845, “at nine o'clock a great
bell... tolls in the market-place .. . after which no colored
man is permitted to be abroad without a pass.” This
custom, Lyell learned, “has... contunued ever since some
formidable insurrections, which happened many years
ago, in Virginia and elsewhere.”°?
Slaves could not live alone or associate with free blacks, a
particularly incendiary element. Drinking and gambling
were forbidden to slaves because, among other things,
these two vices were thought to be focal points for most
black gatherings.*? :
If fear motivated these ordinances, the threat of violence
was the basic means of enforcement. In Montgomery, the
principal threat was thirty-nine strikes of the lash. How-
ever, the fact that usually the lash would not be utilized if
6” Sheldon Hackney, “Southern Violence,” American Historical Review (February, 1969),
906-25.
5' Wade, Slavery in the Cities, 244.
8? Sir Charles Lvell, 4 Second Visit to the United States of North Amenca, Vol. 1 (New York,
1849), 42. See also, Montgomery City Council, 4 Code, 10-4.
§3 Montgomery City Council, .4 Code, 73, 114; See also, Advertiser and State Gazelle, August
27, 1850, and Alabama Journal, March 23, 1843.
224 THE ALABAMA REVIEW
the master of an offending slave was willing to intervene
served to mitigate this violence."
Another mitigating factor was that, in late ante-bellum
Montgomery, the slave code seemed honored mostly in the
breach. This situation was a source of frequent complaint.
For instance, in August 1850, a letter to the Advertiser and
State Gazette called upon the city authorities to establish and
enforce a “better system than present’ of regulating the
slave population:
You cannot walk our streets at night without being thrust off the
sidewalk by a crowd of negroes, unless you have a stick in your hand.
On Sundays, scores of them are gathered around certain shops and
liquor places to the great annoyance of the church-going part of our
population.”°
Again, in 1853, the Advertiser and State Gazette editorialized
that “it is necessary to the order of the city” that the law
“should be more strictly enforced . ..recentevents indicate
clearly that our negroes need a more wholesome
discipline.”*®
Montgomery race relations in 1856 seem to have been
peculiarly tense and the specter of rebellion much too real.
In the interests of “preserving the quiet and good order
the marshall, the mayor, and a local volunteer militia
company, the Montgomery True Blues, patrolled the city.
They raided several “gangs of negroes who were preparing
or actually engaged in gambling.” On searching some of
the “colored gentry,” they discovered “pistols, bullet
moulds, and a quantity of lead.”"®7 Later in the year,
December, a series of incidents caused the city council,
noting the apprehension in the “public mind,” to take extra
police precauuions again. The Blues were called out once
* Montgomery City Council, 4 Code, 109.
85 Advertiser and State Gazette, August 21, 1850. A very similar letter from a person hte
used the pseudonym, Vindex, appeared in the Tr1-bWeekly Alabama Journal, June LO, 1850.
6 ¢dvertiver and State Gazette, April 27, 1853. The situauon had not changed markedly by
1858; see Schwartz v. the State, 37 Ala 460.
87 Advertiser and State Gazette, May 28, 1856.
jJuLty, 1974 225
296 ALABAMA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The troops were ordered back and Capt. Brown’s company returned to
Fort Brown. All the plunder, not destroyed, which was taken at the burn-
ing of Roanoke, was recovered.
sey LONG oath adit lor ere Sa eb ahaa st
About this time, the command under the officers in Alabama had
captured Ne-o Mic-co and the famous Jim Henry (famous for not being
famous) which practically closed the war in this section.
The Indians in this section went into camps, preparatory to going
west, about the first of August, at the Joe Marshall place, now known
as the Ward place, about two miles south of Salem, where they remained
about two weeks, and were fed at Government expense until they went
away.
About this time, Uncle Blake, with his family, returned to his place
on the Uchee. He left five hundred bushels of corn in his crib, compara-
tively little of which was missing on his return. Nothing was burned. He
had employed a friendly Indian to drive his cattle to Ben Marshall, in
Girard, which was done in good faith, but they broke the enclosure and
strayed up the river to the Guerry pfantation, above Mr. William Byrd’s,
where they were all found and recovered. His hogs had strayed out to the
pine woods, and were also recovered. So it appears that he only lost about
a hundred bushels of corn, his crop for that year and the few ordinary ar-
ticles of plantation use that may be generally found “lying round loose”
cn a frontier settlement.
Uncle Blake went to work afresh and soon began to prosper. The
larger portion of his life has been engaged in milling and farming, having,
at one time, owned both the McKinnon, and the Thomas mil] above it.
The latter years of his life have been devoted exclusively to farming, He
has been an active man all his life, but a quiet activity, and yet laborious,
cherishing no ambition to reach beyond his capacity to accomplish. He
was converted and joined the Methodist Church under the ministry of
the late Rev. John W. Starr, and has been a zealous and official member
ever since. His membership was first at Ebenezer, which stood a few
hundred yards from Mrs. Porter Meador’s place, to the left of the road
going east. A large grave yard and a beautiful grove marks the spot. With
a little labor and less expense, judiciously applied, it would be a very at-
tractive spot. About 1847 Ebenezer dissolved and he moved his member-
ship to Shady Grove and assisted in building up that church, though they -
had been worshiping there for ten years previous, in an old log church.
VOLUME FIFTEEN—1953
In 1861, the neighborhood at Antioch having been strengthened, a nice,
commodious Academy was built. The Methodist element reorganized and
worshiped there until the house was consumed by fire in the Fall of
1865. A small log cabin, still standing nearby, was used to teach and
worship in, until 1873, when the present Antioch was built. This house
was moved about six miles, from the W. I. Stroud place, north of the
Uchee, where it was originally built, about seven years previous, for a
house of worship, open to all denominations. During all these years,
Uncle Blake has been a leading member.
Uncle Blake Thomas has had seventeen children born to him, seven
of whom died in infancy. His living children are: Mrs. Gilla A. Pickard,
wife of Mr. Pickard, of Lee; Mr. Alex J. Thomas, of Lee; Mr. Allen
B. Thomas, of Johnson county, Texas; Mrs. Francis Story, wife of Mr.
D. Story, of Lee; Mrs. Malinda Prince, wife of Mr. F. M. Prince, of Lee;
these, the wife of his early manhood gave him, and died as all Christians
die, in 1853, aged 39 years.—She died in the faith of her husband, and in
that faith, left a true mother’s best legacy to her children—a good exam-
ple. She was buried at the Macedonia grave yard. In the same year Uncle
Blake married Mrs. Elizabeth Walls, of Russell county, and their living
children are: Mrs. L. A. Meadors, wife of Mr. Daniel Meadors; W. B.
Thomas, Jr., of Russell; Mrs. Martha Golat, wife of Mr. John Golat, of
Lee; Mr. Van Dorn Thomas and Miss Cusseta Thomas, who still live
with him. All these are married, except Miss Cusseta, who is the baby
and a ray of sunshine amidst the lengthening shadows of her parent's
declining years. Uncle Blake built the house in which he now lives, in
1844—forty years ago—where he has resided ever since. Except one in
‘Vexas, his children all live within a few miles of their parents. He has
forty grandchildren living, all of whom have rested upon their grand-
father’s knee, and two great-grandchildren, one of which he has never
seen. So he has lived to know that his living posterity now numbers
fifty-two souls.
Uncle Blake brought the first six-horse load of flour—fourteen bar-
rels—ever sold in the Columbus, Ga., market, hauling it from Guinett
county, Ga., a distance of one hundred and forty miles, reaching Co-
lumbus on the first day of August, 1828. It sold at $14.00 per barrel,
wholesale, but he retailed the most of it at ten cents per pound. The load
biought over $260.00.
ALABAMA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
During this trip, he remained in Columbus three weeks, and while
there hauled the poles and lumber to build the first house ever erected
on Broad street. This house was built by Mr. Scott, of Charleston, S. C.,
who hauled his goods all the way from that city, by wagons, and opened
the first store on Broad street. This first store was twenty by thirty-five
feet, twenty feet square, being partitioned in front for business and the
family occupying the rear—fifteen by twenty feet—as a residence. This
point is now “Dillingham’s corner.” There were hands enough at work
in the erection of this house to peel and set up the poles as fast as Uncle
Blake could haul them, with a six-horse team, only two hundred yards
and less from where they were felled. The weather-boards were rived out
with a froe. He also hauled the flooring from a little water saw-mill built
by General Featherston, from Gwinett county, on Randal’s creek, in Mus-
cogee county, a short distance from where the railroad crosses it. He was
paid $10.00 a load for the hauling. This was the first sawed lumber ever
used in building a house in Columbus. Other mills were going up, but
none in operation tributary to Columbus at that date.
In 1930, he ran a wagon and team in Columbus and in the spring of
that year, hauled a lot of specie, (which was shipped from New York to
Montgomery), from Montgomery to Columbus, and in so doing, deliv-
ered the first silver dollar ever deposited in the first bank ever opened
in Columbus. This shipment amounted to $30,000. The late Mr. Shad-
eric Perry, who died in Macon county, Ala., some years ago, was his
companion on this trip. This was the old Bank of Columbus, Seaborn
Jones, President, and A. B. Davis, Cashier. Mr. Davis gave a receipt for
the delivery of the money and seventy-five dollars for the service rendered.
The money was put up in iron bound kegs, as usual for transportation
of specie in those days. No guard accompanied them, though the trip
occupied nine days, through an almost unbroken forest, inhabited mostly
by savages and wild beasts.
Two of Uncle Blake’s sons served faithfully in the late war—Alex.
and Allen. Alex. was slightly wounded, in the battles around Atlanta.
Allen passed through the war unhurt and was in every battle in which
his company was engaged, and was the only man left of the original com-
pany, the Russell Volunteers, Capt. Baker—at the surrender of General
Lee, at Appomattox Court House. Since the notes were taken from which
the above was drawn, I learn that Mr. Augustine H. L. (Book) Smith,
color bearer of this company, is still living, as is also Prof. O. D. Smith,
both of whom were of its original roll-call. Their absence at the surrender
OTe PT, Sar are ae ger Pee
Ort ed ee
2} Re
VOLUME FIFTEEN—1953 295
pursuers, who, directed by the report of his pistol, were soon’ on his track.
He waited until his game was near enough to see him plainly through the
thick reeds, pop away and down came another red. In this way, he killed
three in the canebrake, some say four, though only three were found after-
wards; disected by the buzzards. The last one was said to have been a
burley fellow, and very anxious to be shot, and Mr. Hardaway thought it
prudent to give him a good opportunity. So he waited until he got with-
in a few feet of him and was discovered, upon which the Indian shouted,
“Waugh”!” It was his last whoop, and down he went. All this occurred
fifteen miles from Opelika, south, and only forty-eight years ago, the 12th
of May next. Mr. Hardaway reached Columbus after dodging the In-
dians three days, nearly naked, hungry and physically exhausted, but in
spirit as game as ever. The good people of Columbus received him kind-
ly, carried him to a clothier, supplied him with a complete suit of clothes,
and means to meet his immediate wants, purchased a ticket for stage pas-
sage to Macon, and sent him home to his friends.
Uncle Blake, after reaching his wife in Georgia, was satisfied that it
was useless to attempt making a crop in Russell county that year, and
immediately attached himself to a volunteer company in command of
Capt. Enoch G. Brown, which company was assigned to duty in guard-
ing the river from the mouth of Mulberry creek to where Clapp’s Fac-
tory now is. Mulberry creek falls into the river about five miles above
Hardaway’s Ferry. Fort Brown was about a mile from the river, opposite
the Ferry, all on the Georgia side. This was their headquarters until the
close of the war.
About the middle of June, the company was ordered, under com-
mand of Brig. Gen. Sam: Sandford, to go, on a forced march, down the
tiver in pursuit of the Indians who had burned Roanoke. The brigade
followed the Indians until they reached the fork of Itchawaynotchaway
and Wolf creek, in Thomas county, Ga., where they made a stand, after
some skirmishing with a company, under command of Capt. Jernigan. By
this time, Gen. Winfield Scott, who was in command of the U. S. troops,
had ordered all the available force in that direction, and the pursuing
party was re-inforced to about twelve hundred strong. The Indians were
driven from their position between these creeks and fled. Being closely
pursued and harrassed, they were forced to stand at bay, twelve or fifteen
miles farther on. Here they were again routed and forced to a precipitate
flight, turning towards the Everglades of Florida, to join Osceola’s band.
The Clerk of the Montgomery County Circuit Couré ROM: |
TO:
The Montgomery County Court House M. W. “Watty” ESPY, JR.
: P. O. BOX 67
Montgomery, Alabama HEADLAND, ALABAMA 36345 _s
= =
Capital Punishment in Montgomery Co. 22-1977 DS
SUBJECT: : DATE ‘ ~
I am engaged in research on Capital Punishment in our Country which hopefully will culminate ~\
“publication of a work which will contain a brief biographical sketch-of_each_person to-have > |
legally executed in the Up 5S. as well as a brief account of the crimes of each, At present, 1
_am trying to finish up the cases_of Walter _Bryer_who_was_hanged_in Montgamery_on-January 12y_—
IHL 1912 and Henry Barnett and Willie Williams, both hanged in Montgomery on Dec. 2, 1921, I
have obtained copies of the Albama Journal's coverage of their executions,but the-information-r
garding them and their crimes was too skimpy and I am going to needgmorée I know that Bryer
killed a black woman named Clara Brown at Sledges_ about. six months before his execution andtha <
Barnett and Williams killed a white merchant named Davis Anderson in his store on Woodley Road, |
I would appreciate it very mech if you would advise me of the dates of their trials or the dates
of their B¥AEMKXSKK crimes in order that I might obtain copies of the press coverage of those \
events, Unfortunately the coverage of the. executions did not give the dates of the_trials.or—
“the crimes, The Bryer trial would have occurred probably in the September term of Covrt for
1912 while that of Barnett and Williams would have prokably occurred smmetime_in 1921. Iam ——
enclosing a prepaid addressed envelope for your re ciate yo
cooperation,
April 28, 1977
A on g er ava i 1 ab 1 e. _ 7 4 VA Rhb a ns tan panama |
LINE C. EUBANKS | ii
_ Circuit Clerk
We regret that the Court records for the period in question are no _
BS
=
170 TO INQUIRING FRIENDS IF ANY
As I took my package, I murmured, “I have to get a
pair of shoes for Mamma,” and discreetly disappeared
into the hotel.
Even though part of the work of grand juries was to
return indictments for major crimes, they also inspected
the books and offices of the county officials, including
those of the justices of the peace. They visited the
schools and the county jails. They swapped stories and
jokes. They complimented the judge, the solicitor, and
the bailiff. And the bailiff sometimes returned the com-
pliment in verse:
“The Grand Jury met on Monday morn,
Gaddy, bailiff, to blow the horn.
The Solicitor sat in his easy chair
And no one prayed a single prayer.
They examined each witness to see what he knew,
But the bills they found were very few—
Some for murder, some for crime,
But bet your life they had a time.
They chewed tobacco and spit the juice,
And found some bills where there was no use.
They ate peanuts and littered the room
For Gaddy to sweep with an old corn broom.
3 ke ok ok
If on earth we meet no more,
I hope to see them on Canaan’s shore.”
Judge Lackland had died on Christmas Day, 1914,
and Governor O’Neal appointed my friend and class-
mate, Ben Turner, who was then not yet thirty years of
age, to succeed Judge Lackland. Judge Turner always
opened court with prayer, and it was to this practice
Mr. Gaddy, the bailiff, was doubtless referring.
Chapter XXIV
The Circuzt—Part 2
The year 1914 brought other changes,
too. Among them was the passing of the old criminal
court contract law. I have said that Jim Kelly and some
other good negroes—a few, too, that were not so good,
had come to the McDuffie plantation by way of the crim-
inal court contract. My father and I had entered into
these contracts many times. To hire labor under them,
on confession of judgment for fine and costs in mis-
demeanor convictions, had been a general practice in
Monroe and other counties for years past. The state law
authorized such contracts and provided for their en-
forcement.
However, during my first year as solicitor, a number
of Monroe County’s leading planters who had entered
into these contracts were indicted for peonage by the
federal grand jury in Mobile. Mr. Armbrecht, as United
States Attorney, was contending that the criminal court
contract system constituted peonage. And it soon be-
came my duty to assist in the defense in the federal
166 TO INQUIRING FRIENDS IF ANY
year got an automobile; and soon I had one, too. The
roads, however, were still impassable for at least six
months out of every year.
My work at Butler was cut short by an epidemic of
smallpox in Choctaw County. I returned to Monroeville
and thereafter went to Clarke County and to Marengo.
By fall, Washington County had been attached to the
circuit, making five rural counties in all. At Chatom, in
Washington County, I found my old law school class-
mates, Ben Turner, Jr., and Joe Pelham, Jr., practicing
law. And with the Pelham and Turner families, I
boarded during my visits to the county seat.
Traveling around from county to county for the
terms of court, I met old friends and made new ones. In
each county, as the years went by, I came to know the
people, the problems, and the politicians, the probate
judges, the high sheriffs, the lawyers, the coroners, the
business men and farmers who served on grand and
petit juries. I came to know human nature pretty well,
too, in all its glory and degradation. But as a rule I did
not mind the prosecuting angle too much, for I was
(and am) essentially the advocate.
In May of my first year as solicitor, I tried my first
important case for the state.. The defendant, a negro,
was charged with assault on a white woman. To prevent
a lynching, Judge John T. Lackland, the presiding judge
of the circuit, had immediately called a special term.
The man was promptly indicted, tried, convicted, and
sentenced to hang the following month.
Somehow this defendant did not make as much im-
pression on me as several later ones, probably because
I left immediately after the trial for San Antonio, Texas,
to spend two weeks as a National Guard officer on
*.
*e
THE CIRCUIT 167
special detail with the regular Army on the Mexican
border. In July, I again left for camp at Pickett Springs,
Alabama, with the Second Alabama regiment, of which
Charles R. Bricken, Bessie’s husband, was colonel and I
was captain and adjutant. Prior to the advent of World
War I, these summer encampments of various divisions
of the Guard, scattered about the state, were social as
well as military events, with throngs of visitors, band
concerts each night, and dancing. The Guard then (as
now ) had to attend camp for two weeks’ training each
year. Sometimes the entire Alabama National Guard,
which was a brigade, would be encamped together.
During August of 1911, the first jury terms of the
new Monroe County law and equity court convened. The
Alabama legislature had just established this court to
expedite business in my home county. It was my duty to
prosecute in the Monroe County Court and the State
Circuit Court under Judge Lackland. But in prosecuting
cases before Judge McCorvey in the Monroe County
Court, I had the aid of my law partner, Marcus Sowell,
who was the Monroe County solicitor.
Together, Marcus and I tried three murder cases in
the new court. We convicted all three defendants. One
of these men had murdered a law enforcement officer
who was attempting to arrest him as the suspect in
another homicide. The sequal to that man’s conviction,
I have never forgotten. He had been sentenced to hang
in October; but after his first trial it had been discovered
that one of the jurors was a kinsman of the murdered
officer. The conviction was therefore set aside on appeal.
This aroused so much feeling in Monroeville that the
prisoner was placed in the Montgomery County jail for
fear of mob violence.
When I returned home, after spending my first adult
a @
&
a
3 es
an
+
168 TO INQUIRING FRIENDS IF ANY
vacation with my mother in the mountains of Western
North Carolina, I was obliged to prosecute again this
poor devil whose first conviction had been set aside.
Again he was convicted and sentenced to hang—on
Friday, December 29. (Executions then took place by
hanging in the county jails, not, as today, in the electric
chair of the state’s great Kilby Prison. )
I was eating breakfast at the old Watson Hotel which
faced on the courthouse square. This man that I had
prosecuted and who had that morning been hung, they
brought in a casket just under my window. I had swal-
lowed one or two swallows of coffee. The sight of that
casket nauseated me so, I pushed my breakfast aside
and could not eat.
Only one case, however, in my eight years as pros-
ecutor has stuck in my heart and lain on my conscience.
That case grew out of the murder of an infant—born
of a white farm woman, whose husband was in the
insane asylum, and her negro farm-hand overseer. The
man was the only midwife present. He took the infant,
born alive, got a sack, put some heavy stones in it,
went to a nearby lake, and drowned the baby. The
grand jury indicted both the man and the woman. A
petit jury promptly convicted the man, and he was
sentenced to die for murder. Technically, it was murder.
But I was convinced the person chiefly to blame was the
white mother of the baby.
This woman was tried some time after the man, and
I prosecuted her as vigorously as I knew how. She
claimed, however, she knew nothing of the man’s taking
the baby and drowning it. On the witness stand, she
displayed a lot of little baby clothes she said she had
made for the infant, and thus worked on the sympathy
of the jury. To my disgust and astonishment, the jury
o*
v
THE CIRCUIT 169
found her guilty, not of murder, but only manslaughter
in the first degree, and she was given a ten-year sentence.
Meanwhile, just prior to her trial, the poor negro had
been hung. I have always felt that I did not give proper
thought and time to that case to see that absolute justice
was done, because of my failure to intercede and ask the
governor to commute that man’s sentence to life im-
prisonment.
As prosecutor, all of my work did not involve vio-
lence, tragedy, and sordid passion. One amusing inci-
dent occurred during my early days as solicitor, just
after Judge Lackland had empaneled a grand jury. Most
of the jurors were dyed-in-the-wool prohibitionists. But
the state-wide prohibition laws had been repealed during
the early days of Governor O’Neal’s administration, and
the federal act prohibiting the shipment of liquor into
dry territory had not been passed. You could legally get
two quarts by express, even in a dry county.
On this particular day, the grand jury had recessed
for the lunch hour. I was rooming with Jennings Rat-
cliff at the Watson Hotel, and was at the hotel to get
my lunch. Many of the grand jurors (all voters, of
course) were there too. We were all sitting on the long
porch, when up drove the express man, Mr. Bradley
Dubose.
With a flourish, he delivered his packages, which
were in boxes that looked like nothing so much as a
pair of shoes—or two quarts.
“Judge John T. Lackland, judge of the First Judicial
Circuit!” Mr. Dubose called out.
“Jennings David Ratcliff, attorney at Monroeville!”
: ohn McDuffie, Solicitor of the First Judicial Cir-
cuit!”
Poe ee Tee ere ee ee te ee ee iis bbe ——s. eee es sly ite tad ads eat ak
,14 THE ALABAMA REVIEW
Eventually about 2,500 Creek warriors and twenty-nine
villages among the Upper Creeks joined the Red Sticks.
All of the Alabama villages were hostile. Five Upper Creek
towns remained at peace, mainly the Natchez and Hilla-
bee towns and those under Big Warrior. The Lower
Creeks did not actively support the Red Sticks, nor did the
towns on the eastern side of Creek territory, which during
the war became allies of the Americans.*®
Tecumseh’s visits per se did not make the Creeks decide
to go to war against the United States. Before he arrived
among them, there were Indians who felt that war would
be the solution to their problems with the whites. His visits
did, however, crystallize the Creeks’ thinking and changed
many hesitant warriors into ones willing and even eager to
go to war. Perhaps Tecumseh’s major contribution to the
Creek hostilities was that he provided an organization to
carry on the war, the Red Sticks, and a way for them to
acquire British arms and ammunition. He also made the
_ Creeks aware of the practicality of waging a war in the
immediate future. Added to many already existing causes
of hatred for the Americans, the Tecumseh-inspired con-
viction that this war was to be fought under supernatural
guidance led the Creeks to believe that the opportunity
for revenge had arrived. Thus Tecumseh’s visits must be
counted as one of the major causes of the Creek War. This
fact made his journeys among the more momentous in the
history of the Southern Indians.
© American State Papers: Indian Affairs, 1, 851; Absalom H. Chappell, Miscellanies of
Georgia, Historical, Biographical, Descriptive, Etc. (Atlanta, 1874), 71; Halbert and Ball,
Creek War, 98-99.
and Bloody Encounters
in Early Perry County
W. STUART HARRIS
Os DECEMBER 13, 1819 DURING THE FIRST. session of the
“Alabama legislature Perry County was one of six new
“counties created from a portion of the lands acquired
‘from the Creek Indian Nation. Named in honor of Oliver
‘Hazard Perry, a naval hero of the War of 1812, this
“west-central Alabama county contained 790 square miles
of future farm and timber lands. Even before the legisla-
‘ture created the countv, several families of rugged squat-
‘ters had ventured into the area to settle on or near the
banks of the Cahaba River.
©Twentieth-century impressions of Perry County and
the county seat at Marion envision broad acres of cotton
lands, stately mansions, enlightened citizens, and educa-
tional and religious institutions; however, in reality, this
county, like others within the state of Alabama, evolved
through a frontier period that lasted for almost two
decades, in which rowdyism, public drunkenness, and
bloody encounters were daily occurrences.’
“Michael McElrov. traditionally known by the alias of
Michael Muckle, who was the first settler on the future site
of Marion, was a typical product of the frontier period.
Somewhat of an enigma, this “Romulous of our little
Rome,”:as he was called by the early Marion historian,
S. A. Townes, arrived in the county in 1817 and
“flourished in the midst of gourd vines and long shanked
"Thomas Perkins Abernethy. The Formative Period in Alabama 1815-1828 (2nd ed.,
University, Ala., 1965), 161-52: Avbert Burton Moore, History of Alabama (University,
Ala., 1934), 128-57.
ISSN 0002-4341/80/010015 + 10/$00.95/1
6- Taran: TAT IT FT
ALNQOQ Acgcéd.
16 THE ALABAMA REVIEW
collards.”? Erecting a simple cabin, this squatter and his
wife improved only one acre of land on which they
planted a crop of corn before selling their holdings to
Anderson West the following year, when mney disap-
peared from the pages of history.
Discovering that the first county seat, Perry Ridge, was
unsuitable, county commissioners selected “Muckle’s
Ridge,” present-day Marion, as the new county seat of
justice on February 5, 1822.° And with dreams of instant
wealth, Anderson West divided his property into town
lots, which were sold at public auction on May 22, 1822.
This entrepreneur also founded the first store in the
village.*
The frontier town of Marion developed slowly. Townes
stated that “the entire population, white and black, men,
women and children, in the year 1826, numbered only
144,”> while in 1828, it “had very much the appearance of
a private gentleman’s country residence.”® One of the
principal hotels, that belonging to Mrs. Ann Smith, was
constructed of pine poles, “placed upright instead of
being notched together, ‘hog-pen fashion.’ ”’
In 1823 with but three stores and three hotels in Marion
the county issued no less than eleven licenses for the sale
of intoxicating beverages.* Drinking was said to be as
common as eating, since corn liquor and brandies made
2S. A. Townes, “The History of Marion. Sketches of Life in Perry County, Alabama,”
Alabama Historical Quarterly, XIV (1952), 179-80. This account is a reprint of the 1844
edition. See also Marion Standard, February 26, 1909.
*W. Stuart Harris, Dead Towns of Alabama (University, Ala., 1977), 68; Townes,
“History of Marion,” 184-85.
* Townes, “History of Marion,” 186; Marion Standard, February 12, 1909. These
accounts in the Marion Standard were written by Captain William L. Fagan, who first
published his reminiscences in 1886. The Marion Standard reprinted them in 1909.
> Townes, “History of Marion,” 193.
® Ibid.
7 Marion Standard, March 5, 1909.
* Orphans Court Minutes A, Perry County Probate Office, Marion, 43-44.
aNvARY 1980 17
rom apples and peaches were in great abundance. It was
litle wonder that rowdyism, public drunkenness, and
bloody encounters were frequent.®
* The Marion log store of Lauftin McIntosh, a native of
3 Scotland, offered whiskey by the half-pint and cherry
_bounce, 7° while Billy Price owned the town’s most fre-
~quented saloon, situated across the street from the court-
house. Adorned by a large sign proclaiming “Dum Vi-.
_vimus, Vivimus,” (“while we live, let us live it up,”) this
“crude log dram-shop was the “lounging place for all the
loafing population for many miles around,”" or for the
“boys,” as this collection of riffraff was most often called.
Here assembled “the originators of all the mischief perpe-
trated in Marion for the succeeding ten years,” wrote an
early Perry County historian.
=, The first courthouse in Marion, a simple two-story
wooden structure built in 1823 on large wooden blocks
that raised it some three feet off the ground, was de-
scribed as having the appearance “of a smoke house with
windows.”'* At an early date this building became the
target of a devilish group of “boys” who had assembled at
Price’s saloon, and who were, incidentally, well under the
influence of the wares of Bacchus. Late one night, after all
“decent” individuals had departed from the business sec-
tion for the evening, the “boys” crept across the street to
the courthouse square, where they pried the wooden.
blocks from one end of the seat of justice, allowing that
end of the building to drop to the ground. The following
morning the ire of the city fathers was raised considerably,
* Moore, History of Alabama, 144.
* Marion Standard, March 26, 1909.
" Tbid., -February 19, 1909.
it Ibid.
8 Ibid.
Sn See
4
1938 HISTORY OF CONECUH. HISTORY OF CONECUH. 109
excited the pr: foundest indignation In all parts of the
county. Two negro ‘men, belonging to Mr. Sandy
«
in the county. The chief issue, still, was the
as having been a year of remarka)le excitement
dy Pad hate gre
eed Raia Se Onn NIN Tee HRY A
has y AN :
a. laa et ITM PBR a Nee Eto A Heer pe
Or eee eo ee et mary
on wr RR tent
»
Senne nonamaneneeay Puninits Sne
currency. Undismayed by past reverses, the Dem-
ocratic Party renewed its efforts to secure the
Representative to the Legislature in the session of
1841. Garland Goode was chosen as the advocate of
the principles of Democracy, while Churchill Jones
led the opposing Whigs. Public sentiment was stirred
to i's deepest depths, and the passion for success well
izh bordered on to frenzy. The county resounded
from limit to limit with impassioned oratory. ‘Every
1an was a politician, and the emphasis with which he
announced his principles, left uo doubt as to the
olltical banner beneath which he served. The con-
test was again close—just enough so, to tantalize the
Democratic hosts and to fire them with a determina-
tion to renew the conflict the next year. The Whigs
bore off the palm, and Mr. Jones was sent to the Leg-
islature. So acceptable a Representative did he prove,
that he was returned for three successive terms.
With unabated ardor, however, the Democrats en-
tered the ficld afresh in 1844, under the leadership of
A.W. Jones. The opposite party found a worthy
champion in the person of Ransom L. Dean. The
contest was again close, but this time the Democrats
achieved a victory. This conflict between the two
parties continued from year to year, as we shall see
as we proceed.
[In 1841, a tragedy occurred at Bellville, which,
bevause of its boldness, and premeditated eoncoction,
Puryear, of Monroe, had adroitly arranged to rob and
destroy the store of Duncan McIntyre, who was then
merchandising at Bellville. They succeeded in enter-
ing the house, and after ladening themselves with
valuables, they quietly sct the house on fire within,
coolly mounted their horses, and rode toward home.
Investigation and vigilant search for a single trace of
the stolen goods seemed, for a time, fruitless—and,
perhaps, the criminals would have escaped undetected,
had not one of the villains undertaken to barter a fine
gold watch for a gun. This furnished a clew to the
mystery; the advantage was iinproved, and soou the
guilt was fixed upon the scoundrels. After trial, they
were duly exeeuted by being hanged, at Monroeville,
the following year. L—
In January, 1844, the first tannery ever established
in Conceulh was built near Bellville, under the auspices
of Messrs. J. R. Hawthorne and John H. Farnham.
For a number of years it continued in a flourishing
condition, as it furnished leather to Conecuh and to
citizens in counties adjoining.
It was by no means an uncommon occurrence, at
this period, to see slave speculators plying their trade
as they would pass, here and there. into different parts
of the country. ‘The slaves were usually transported
in wagons; and these dealers would locate themselves,
for several days together, at the different centres of
population,—pitch their tents,—and exhibit their
VOLUME FIFTEEN—1953 299
of Gen. Lee is accounted for by the fact that Mr. Smith was wounded
and in hospital and Prof. Smith was a prisoner. There may be others still
living; but, as far as known, Mr. Allen Thomas was the only one of the
original roll-call present on that occasion.
The little log church which once stood three-fourths of a mile north-
east of McKinnon’s Mill, was strictly a Whiteite, or Free Will Baptist
Church, and Rev. Cyrus White, the founder of that denomination,
preached there often. A small grave-yard, in a dilapidated condition, sur-
rounded by cultivated fields, mark the spot. An old rock chimney is still
standing, on a rock in which, the name “Mobley” is plainly marked.
Mr. A. B. Thomas—Uncle Blake, as he is affectionately called by
three generations of children and friends is still living, with his faithful
companion by his side, on the place where he first settled in the county
in 1834, fifty years ago, and has enjoyed the privilege of voting for thir-
teen aspirants for President of the United States. He has witnessed the
emergency of the country from an almost unbroken forest to what it now
is. Salem, Opelika, Auburn, Loachapoka—in fact, all the towns in the
county, except Girard and Mt. Jefferson, had no existence when he first
moved to the county.
About 1870 he met with a severe accident, which crippled his right
hand for the balance of his life, and in 1883, came near losing his life
from an assault made by an enraged bull, which he had broken to the
yoke, and up to that time had been tractible and useful. There are but
few men in any country carrying the weight of his years who enjoys bet-
ter health, or are able to do a steadier or longer days work than he, to-
day; and from present appearances, is likely to last many years yet. And,
when he does pass away, it can be truly said of him, that the world is
no worse because he lived in it.
CHAPTER XXIII
A Notable Fact—Mechanicsville—Rev. Cyrus White—Schisms—The
Whiteite Baptists—Anecdote—Rev. Jesse Mercer
It is a notable fact, which has confronted historians of all ages, that
men who have reached a degree of eminence among their contemporaries,
have left but little on record of their early lives and experiences. The most
correct conclusion as to the reason why, may be traced to the world’s rec-
MRA Cd RE PE Rates
eet? PEE PRs |
>
”
400 ALABAMA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
nately and for them to pack up and flee without delay, if they wished to
save their lives. In confusion and haste, the family packed up what they
could conveniently carry, and got away that night, crossing the river at
Nettle’s Ferry and stopped at the Harris county camp-ground. After get-
ting things straight on the other side, he came back, and a company was
formed, electing Hon. B. H. Baker captain and went for the Indians. As
far as Dr. Kenon now knows, all of that company are now dead except
himself. This company picketed the country around Salem until the In-
dians left that immediate vicinity, when it was dissolved, the Doctor re-
turning to Georgia. Captain Brown was in camp at Hardeway’s Ferry,
awaiting orders and Dr. Kenon joined his company, which was made up
mostly of Alabama refugees. They made several trips over in Russell,
watching the houses, and about the time the stages were burned, Dr.
Kenon was on picket duty on the north side of the Little Uchee, near
Moffetts Mill. While on guard, he heard the Indians passing, laughing
and jabbering all night. Being relieved at sunrise he reported to Capt.
Brown what he had seen and heard. He and a comrade were detailed to
reconnoitre, which resulted in the discovery that a large number of In-
dians had crossed the creek that night, going towards Wetumpka Town.
It being contrary to orders, they could not cross the creek and returned
to camp that night. A day or two after, a large party came over and con-
sidering themselves strong enough, crossed the creek to Wetumpka Town,
finding the wigwams in good keeping, but no Indians. On cautiously
looking round, they were discovered concealed in the woods. Dr. Kenon
recognized Tuskoona Fixico and made for him. The chief ran and the
Doctor made chase and an exciting race followed. There had fallen a vast
amount of rain and the earth was full of water. The wily Indian took to
the marshes and boggy places, knowing that his pursuer’s horse would
sink in the mire, and this only saved him. He made his escape, though
Dr. Kenon was within fifty yards of him at one time. On returning to
the Indian town they found large quantities of plunder concealed in
their wigwams, which had been stolen from the deserted houses of the
refugees. This they took charge of and on their return to camp, made
storage of it at the house of Mr. Eli Stroud, with instructions to deliver
the goods to their respective owners when called for. The party on reach-,
ing Fort Brown, found everything quiet, and having nothing to do, re-
quested their Captain to make an effort to have them discharged, as they
were in the U. S. service. With this in view, they went to Columbus, and
that night, a courier came in with the startling intelligence of the burn-
ing of Roanoke and they were ordered down there. The Indians were
followed to a point below Lumpkin, where they heard firing and were
VOLUME FIFTEEN—1953 393
son now lives, practicing his profession and farming two years. In 1859
or 1860, Dr. Kenon returned to Salem, and lived on the north side of the
Railroad. The houses were burned some years ago and the lot is the
property of Mr. W. J. Brewington. He afterwards lived on the John
Adair place south of the cross street, and the north side. He then bought
the place built up by the late John McCarter, on the corner, east from
the blacksmith shop, and opposite, south of the Railroad. He finally pur-
chased the Adair place and remodeled the houses, and materially improv-
ing the whole place, where he lived until about five years ago he pur-
chased the place opposite from W. J. Brewington, Jr., where he now re-
sides. This place is now one of the most desirable residences in Salem.
During the war, Dr. Kenon served as surgeon in company K, 34th Ala.,
commanded by Col. Mitchell, and also as Brigade Commissary. After
the war, he resumed the practice of medicine in Salem and continued
until 1877, when he retired to the privacy of home as a farmer and mer-
chant, associated with his sons. The wife of his manhood and declining
years, who is still by his side, has given him twelve children, three of
whom died in infancy. One son, Dixon H. L. Kenon was killed in battle
in Maryland, during the war. I think this was the oldest son to reach
manhood and was unmarried. Eight still live: Mr. Warner P. Kenon, Jt,
merchant in Salem and Columbus, residing in Salem, Robert L. Kenon,
associated with his brother in business, residing in Salem, Franklin P.
Kenon, farmer, residing in Salem, Mrs. Louisa Dowdell White, widow of
the late Dr. W. R. White, now residing with her father. Mrs. Julia D.
Dunn, wife of Mr. W. A. Dunn, Jr., of Salem, Mrs. Martha H. Hill,
wife of Mr. Samuel Hill, associated with his brothers-in-law in business,
residing in Columbus, Mrs. Emma F. Head, wife of Dr. W. J. Head, of
S. W. Ga., and Miss Betty B. Kenon, the baby, who still keeps the sun-
shine of filial love bright under the home rooftree, in all weathers. If there
is any couple of their age who have lived in the same neighborhood near-
ly fifty years and raised a large family of sons and daughters to manhood,
and in their old age have ample cause to be proud of their children, Dr.
and Mrs. W. P. Kenon is that couple.
Dr. Kenon’s war experience in 1836 was stirring and somewhat ex-
citing. Being only twenty-two years of age and full of the spirit of ad-
venture, a rough soldier's life suited his temperament, and he went into
the excitement both from patriotism and for the “fun of the thing.” In
May of that year, while at supper at his father's house near Dover, a
‘ courier came to warn them of the impending danger, stating that the In-
dians were playing havoc on the Uchee, killing and burning indiscrimi-
5 weg” ty Rw ag
mre a
ete
bie a
7
sees ep Meare ict 9 fee nang 4 A Mab de eat!
ree
*
ee eae
asi
at:
nl a
Phen
oh
#
ee oad
ae
ea Se
endattee
ey
oF ¥
398 ALABAMA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Texas, he married the third time, of which I have no notes further than
the supposition that his widow still survives. Only two of his children
are now living, both in Texas.
As a physician, Dr. Kenon was successful, and as local minister of
the Methodist Church, very useful, and in both these callings, was more
than ordinarily popular and his memory is cherished by the old residents
of Salem and surrounding country as associated all that is pleasant and
agreeable during the years of the country’s greatest prosperity.
The second member of this family was Miss Louisa Kenon who matr-
ried Mr. Benjamin Collier, a distant relative of the Collier family of
Opelika, and settled near Dover in Lee county, about 1836, and died
there in 1856, having two children, both of whom, and their father, now
reside in Coosa county. .
Miss Martha K. Kenon, the second daughter and the baby of the
family, married Mr. Isaac Magee and settled in Girard in 1835, and
opened a hotel, the first enterprise in that line ever undertaken in that
town. It was a framed building and stood one hundred yards west from
the bridge, on the north side of the street. Here she lived until the war,
during which, she died. Shortly after the war, Mr. Magee moved to North
Alabama and died in 1874. There are none to represent this branch of
the family in Lee county. They have a son residing in Atlanta. Dr. Warn-
er P. Kenon, the youngest son and only survivor of his generation of the
family, was born in Jasper county, Ga., May 30, 1814. In 1832, when
eighteen years old he commenced life in Columbus, Ga., as a clerk in the
first warehouse ever opened in that city, the firm name of which was
Haywood & Co., where he remained until 1834, when he went into busi-
ness by himself as a merchant, continuing two years. In 1836, he came
into Russell and settled near Dover.
On Feb. 27, 1840, Dr. Kenon married Miss Elizabeth Story, daugh-
ter of the late James Story. The first two years of his married life was
spent on the place now owned and occupied by Mrs. Moore half mile
east of Mott’s Mill. In 1843, he went with his brother, Dr. Isham Kenon,
to Mt. Jefferson and read medicine with him, under Dr. Tucker. In 1845,
he same back to Russell and commenced the practice of medicine at
Greentown, near Shady Grove. In 1846 or 1847, he went to Wacoochee
Valley and practiced there eight years. This was during the palmy days
of that burg. His next move was in 1856 or 1857, to where Hugh P. John-
aa
ald aR BOS,
r
ec
¢ aes
ra
tte'Coun
ay
thy
In 1909, a search for coat’!
was being made in the Si ey
“Valley, he southeast of fayette,
“Ih Decomber of that same year, +f
vo 84% Instead of coal, was found, °
{s was in sufficent quantities st
0 light and heat the entire |’ Ke
town, Thirty-seven (37) more ty
Wells were drilled but none pro=
luced like the first one did, a
Payerte ta County lost
ertion With the fore
Jones (Later Lamar) 2°)". y
oon ale gry is.and one on the north side, Gas
fone. began to divide
ducing wells at one time, one
then began to slow up; not to
much from a fafiure of the flow 4
from the weil, but the Pipos got
sand in them,
k of proper equipment and | th
capital, than nature's
et the service was sus+*
ed, ’ ¥ at
,) CAPITAL PUNISHMENT ||
es
dies,
frie ates of Payette County
amy ixjuare tntiee, which is
q MVelerit to 411, 526 acres,
: rs ) temperature is 61 ::
; vi the, average rain-
ti inches, was hanged for the murd
fo 058 his father; he had also killed
> “G> his brother, but was tried and ~\:
hanged for the murder of his
"father, The crime for which 3
* Kirby paid the death Penalty. +s
* took place in Pickens County, |
* but was brought to Fa
,, Comty on. a charge
fr
Payer jounty, is one of Als
‘| Wealthiest counties in .
income, ‘The con+‘
vende,
He was indited in Pickens | 4
County in A peti, 1859 and was | 1
Fayette County . |
i» Of the Jury was ty and the *
sh penalty tmpoied,: if
He was hanged in June, 1860,
(> Hangings tn these days were. op!
«* public and the gallows for Kirs
pea al
Marni
; was erected In the hollow,
vy, @ Uttle distance west from the
.\, courthouse at Payette Court . ,
“<? House, on the yton Road, |: ;
slope of the hillsto
view of the exeouti
In Aug
mistionét's Court passed an Oren,
der granting the sum of $20, 00")
to 1M. Foster and brother for A a
erecting gallows and fumishin e
coffin for Kirby, Sheriff J. H, Hare h
ton was allowed $10, 00 as the ex«
*;@cutor and John C, Robertson was
lowed $9, 60 for furnishing shroud:
, a and ot for coffin in.
hich Kirby was burried, i
ot a. better »
a why vy
‘ounty con
dt 004) and fron
veal tard 00 fer unmoterted,
oly goa) are almost naked |
he ‘reastem part of the
n
n
the city for afi;
so ing
phe. wity becuse 10 3
be saved by to doing
pun: hew spa per,
went yative (38) i *' County ocoured sixty
Bo ae RATT Viren ER Rae i, ama
Me
‘delivery wagon 12% , as
Thubécriby llesraly ‘ ; % a |
Rie, charitable and :
me fa 4 gohan ;
af a i and bea ; ie: ine lee dt 4 rr |
wisn 1 6 od “g 4 . : erat } by
wna fe hot devo / ; : has aly
“ILL LHAVE MONTGOMERY EVERY!
MONDAY, WEONESDAY ANO FRIDAY.
HORNING' AT 4 OCLOCK AND ARRIVE)
MILLEOGEVILLE EARLY’ ON “Tie *
NINGSOF THE FOLLOWING ‘THuRS-
SATURDAYS ANO MONOAY’S,,,,,1)¢
Good Horses arr! suitable Carriages, :
a cal +]
gr
ila
ge peats 4 $C provigeda,
UIC? O OANA,
; PA see! Anal exfab chi
we GOILET WVUS BS PICISE/THA
ya ‘ . 0 Gh 1005" .
, ger. Seer, vt
y : } ; Mm ie
reeds i keg yj, Sohey
%, ¢.
“7 da
; ore | i hee
! SENG E
: MW, Cirouit ; ig what t
t pa Comty Tress repeat v. 10% payin “ure b 1827" : by
x tt AS ft o H Ld
py Mae
"Tat A
© an it
came in abundance for a while,.. '
I was more from , Was est
In 1860, one William a ee Sete hs
ier of « )
ette Yo.) by
oT This place was selected so Estab
the people could Occupy the :
they left
of time, * «+
to Co
; and Chickasaw Indians,
though there were no Ind
‘
years after the fitst, when in 1925
erant Negro laborer
Mac
itl near Stou
victed in July, 1925,
by 4 twelve (12
the courthouse
the two hangings in Fa
ty, requiring t
iambless sprang the tra
yf Urs 4
NEWSPA PERS
However, the paper's name —
and editor) was constantly change
ng.
“Fayette Gazette" +-1877
+The Tribune = 1900
The Weekly News 1898
‘ The Banner 1900 ar
In 1906, the papor was edited
the Baptist and Methodist Min«
isters, It was ono of the best of
the State's weeld
; the Birmingham
806,
ODDS AND ENDS!
The paving of Temple Avenue ’
' Was begun late in 1925 and com=
leted early in 1927, and it was
ow olvilleatt following thotr
Oble and wntiring efforts through
uncertain and often pertious times
nd events, We lear of their
arly struggles to secure what we
ave ra and as they departed
lootprints on the sands:
The majority of the count "
“s first settlers came from Sout
The second hanging in Payette: < Carolina and Georgia, but some
“five (65) :': few did come ftom Tennessee,
,\. North Carolina and Virginia,
jes? Me
The first mafl route (single ri«
\. der and horse, with one mail por '
eek) to serve this area was os-
«tablished fn 1818, «six years be=
vo, fore Fayette County was organized,
$\ The route was fron} Tuscaloosa,
an a Marion County and on
Tt Was not until the
umbus,
{road came in 1883 that mail
Was brought in or carried out ‘
‘i,’ other than by horse and rider, ;
This area was the huntin
‘ound for the Creek, Choctaw
even
ges in the county,
Black bears roamed the forests
and the Indian name “Luxa
menas "Creek where the terrapin
Orawls, fee Voki ye evr, 9
AER A git a]
‘ ur
ays. dn ploneer days, sat sotd for
*; ten dollars per
“* Not unusual for it to take several
shel and ft was
ys for @ person to carry corn or,
| Wheat to one of the early water .
pe MUTI, Agony |! ft) ey
(
4
+) FIRST HOUSES)".
One of the first houses to be
{It in Payette County was bullt
one en | Moore, who came
+ Tha house, bulit
820's,
was mado of
bricks, It
d about five
‘
t
Harry
While working on the Fa otte
Tuscaloosa highway, taped a white
gh. He was caught '
y the blood hounds of §, F, Mea-:
dows,’ A short time after the aga’
sault, Mach was tried and cons)
He was *)!
hanged on a gallows, enclosed
foot wall, near “
in August, 1925,
The law had been changed between
yette Coun=
he executions by «::
: ‘), hanging to be private, Sherri
There were three (3) gas pros * 3 7,
that ee
nt the criminal to his death,
{ southeast of Fayette in Sipey ©): Dr.
t
» A.Cy Bran ‘onounced him ,4,. Bs
alley, one south of railroad, | dead, |: heater erie pe tg pe fy 4
Tho first yg in this aroa
Aablished in 1849 and Pays:
tte County has had continous
sr, H@Wspaper service since that time,
- "Payette Joumal” =-1884 -R7
, Fayette Sentinel 1893-1898
Ts, $0 said
ger, Apri 4,
The Baptist minister was A, B,
Metcalf, '
, fh: People seeking de=
t of 1860, the Com ‘3 mooracy , reay ware tooute for a
lan vil*,.
‘py t) Mon was mada because Mr, Caine
Pallila
located on **:
ind now owned
SPLIT RAIL FENCE around house with unusual chimney, Chimney is
» made of wood, must have been lined vith clay,
ty: Celebrates: 14:
' « 8: ig
SESQUICENTENNIAL BROADCASTER SEPT, 1969 3
4
oh arty
ey ‘ a . 7 ‘2 if od Paddys
iy sie, Loe Sik, n
OME BS RE ERGY Ge
Sth Birthda y
“ ee i bait
> f
we. sf
ten years betore another street
wa
$ paved,
W.D. Putman brought the first
automobile to Fa
sm.
und
When Mr,
ette, Due toa
all difficulty, he put the car
er a shed and uever used it,
T.M, Jones came to
Fayette in 1901, there were two
churches and five (5) saloons,
There {s a large hand-hewn re+
cta
Davis’ printing office,
Pioneers Seek
lish City.
“The eartiost sottiors of Fayotte
County were
by
viln
ma
ngular stone, near Marion
that ladies
tho J.V, Tarwator ostnto, Now
but two plios of brick how
rk the loontion of this oary
dwolling,
The first settlemont around
what is now the county seat, was
the
tod.
for
on
area known as “Old Town"
ay and was called LaFayette
the French eneral, who was
& socond visit to this country
at about this time, This name
didn't last long because the same
settlement was incor
aves asa
, town on January 15, 1821 and was
called Fayette Court Houso, (More
abo
ut the names when we come
to the history of Fayette, )
One of the earliest houses in
Fayette Court House was built
+1 Bangs C, Moore (Probate Judge
1
5-1849), It was ori inally a
two story house but as ngle story
house but a single story remains
toda
Roa
Another earl
(and it survive
the
, the
and {s the house on Elyton
Where Mrs, John Gilliam's
» Now live,
house in Fayette
the 1911 fire) tg
Caine House, which ts now ’
Whitney House, Originall
only a six room house, an addj-»
was
le
Laat
the sheriff and so ge poo-
Spont the nights with him »
n here to attend court, The
house wae built sometime prior
tol
still
som
884 and the present house
has the "Caine" name trane
above the front door,
(There were only four houses
between Tuscaloosa and Payotte
Cou
rt House in 1886, )
NAMES AND MORE NAMES
The present city of Fayette has
been In
own by various names at
different times and has occupied
Pr
77
* ¢ different territory in its history,
om 1821-1898, of during
ears, It was called by seven
difforent names (not Ingtuding
the temporary names o
"Alfreda”
nae AS. P
New Civilizatio fi,
Of Progress
AY pind Gah
used to stand upon to mount their
horses, A similar stone, was at
one time, in fron of the E, P,
Goodwin residence (now the Radio
© Station. ) But it is now gone,
In agreoing with Mr. RLF, Pe-
ters words of 1887, we still be-
lieve “Fayette is on the i road
to prosperity and fortune” bocause
We have been on our feet--not
“on our backs” "to grab those plums
When they did fall, Our boom
that began in 1887 is still going
strong today in 1965, 1969,
and “Icy”)
To Het thon COmoCItVely, Wo
_ flnd thoy wore Lal'nyotto, Payotto
Court House, Payettoville, Prog
Level, Fayette pot Town, La-
tona and Fayetto,
LAFAYETTE
The name LaFayotte, given to
honor the patriotic Pranch genoral
(1757-1894) who war making his
second visit to this country at this
ume, didn't last long, (There
Were ry a Aine Places in the
United States namod for him,
Four of them in Alabama, )
FAYETTE COURT HOUSE --1821
Fayette Court House was incor-
porated as a town Januar 15, 1821,
about four years bofore Payette
County was creatod by an act of
the legislature December 20, 1824,
The town was known by this
hame for almost sixty years, Sur«
Vivors of early residents remem =
ber the fact that all mite boards
directing to the town were marked,
Fayette C.H., Many signs were stil
in existence even after the incor-
Poration of the town of Fayotto-
ville in 1880,
Fayette Court House had the
first post office odes d 14, 1826)
{n the area and Jesse Van Hoose
was the first postinaster, Ho was
the postmaster of fifteen ears
and his entire salary was $524. 00,
When John C, Robertson arrived
from Scotland, in 1846, the pop-
ulation was 260,
FAYETTEVILLE =~1880
Fayetteville was incorporated,
December 8, 1880, Boundary lines
of corporation are circular with
courthouse as center and includ«
ing a district of the @unty one
(Con't on page 4)
By ple Tarwater
allahan
William Kirby, a native of
» Pickens county, \s hanged
justly or poe az Fayette
County. Only the Creator will
know whether Kirby had malice
» in his heart when he shot his fa-
©. ther in 1859.
~ Kirby came home one day to
- find his father beating a retarded
‘son, Kirby, so the story goes,
- * picked up a gun and shot his
Father, A bullet ricocheted
and hit his brother,’ killing both
father and son,
There is no doubt but that great
numbers of people visited the jail
and talked with the condemned
> man, His every word and com-
ment was news to eager ears and
quoted to this day.
"Every woman who can sell a
dozen eggs to buy a yard of cali~
co, to make a dress, will come
to see old --* === hung, and by
“God, they'll see it", This was
one remark the prisoner made,
His last words, spoken in a more
’ sober tone, have been remem
bered,: too,
e witnesses to the hanging
*~ have described it as a most hor
rible and unforgetable experience
~~ Tt took hg on Friday June 15,
1860," The hanging tree still
"stands in Old Town, ‘It is said
» that this was the only white man
*” ever to hang in Fayette Count
No relatives of the condemne:
man were present except for a
sister, The screams of the wo~
men were almost unbearable and
lived on as haunting memories to
those telling the story.’ The Rev,
John H, Davis was present and
tay have been the minister who .
supported the prisoner in his last
hour and who offered up the last
prayer,
Preachers of the county must
have lifted their voices {n earnest
prayer and with special zeal as
* they sought to prepare for eternity,
~~ a man condemned to die, The
* Rev, Julius Glover, age
of Tuscaloosa, was a Methodist
\ minister, He and his wife are
~~ “purted near Fayette on the Win
fleld Highway.
The Fayette Democrat anowss:
aper, was being published bys
chard Allen Smith and must
have printed the luried detatls
that the old printing press he
used was over 4 hundred years
old at that time. A confession
blished after the man was
anged
revealed a strange feud that had
existed in the famfly, Printers
* were Richard J, Smith, @ son,
‘and a young man named J.C.
) Massey age 2%, ‘and another if
Wa Russell, age 21.
Kirby asked that his trial;
be changed from Pickens to
Fayette County and the request
-)was been On these pages
“-aret om ers involved in this
case, Kirby was found guilty
on one count of murder and
was sentenced to be hanged,
‘He had pleaded not guilty.
The following article is a
combination of articles pre
pared by Mrs. B A. Sullivan
of Birmingham and Mrs,
~) Marguerite Tarwater Callahan
of Tuscaloosa, Their‘ stories»
«> were about the same time
od so they have been
‘combined, in this article
WILLIAM KIRBY is mentioned
and the circumstances sur
rounding the crime and the
punishment,
Astronomy books and newspa
leave no doubt that stars litera
Ve git yp. Ratome ZB
49, lately ©
of the recent hanging. They say |.
ave the story in full ané _
_ Stars Fell On Fayette County
"showered" the state of Alabama
BY HANGED WHILE
“AND TOWNSMEN WATC
INDICTMENT
essa GF Wheel he fbetiag aw Gite Cuiy a ae
poe |
.
Pete? * He ben! Govier Heese, A4ee. a
Bie fhevst Bbsergy Z YZ Hie gudger Ff Ce ee
Cea Mes o: hes hide ee eaeed, SPL pO yi ay tack Aeaey tis 2
5 el
+m hi
Were cns Lark
Gy.) aoe eee ~
Alef be tsi, far Paid tArety vo Fae chu of
Lath batt GP beiag file IS) hag |
Vea Muipeea, He anesty a
af
Brcerriere |
Par metre nF a i ae wat wre ‘%
ie des
a
ag Bey amin Bet iage? then $e
ie ee ee ee
YW gras furor fbr Hie pe , |
OAS A, aaitees 20. eset, fit Dea bare ‘ll Leet
Daserl nF 7 i Hess Speer! db. LO EP : Jiceticesrisdsd eo’? iin tia
| eesin... CAG tol Pugh 7. Phen L lye, wre enrid A2o bagly 9
: ex 4 Y pdtdiud "Lhd ltn , wb Willies oY. Lacrsmeerveltt, ad Vict
A Blbnees Mh Kf) fLechardidn. tip, Srenye Lritter~ WS Wesley"
Neer FET Merk “y Lalicee: QoarZise AecF- ce'-000 ee
secon le lees
fees led, ipo LL AP recy. Willian SY Lusmusurvtlte, oe
; We, rege ecedte is (Qvacde.. LOgeds 4retce Leg fecice!. OP LCOL “a fie &vrh
faked Sa Kacgee deep batt of, JOLOG LP peachiey A> Ab wee
(fol acest td. Hes S Abad aiamedg, ened went Hew h ty q
peeked. btufuannidled, Taal A tharged as Fraud PF coatiaticad por’ 2
Ye. hriereah, Lenudl sf heed) cecil Le wth Jolie Di danzy ’ cet
\Ondiev,Witltaw ; flichariletns, perteptl Alene; Jihad Bbieg- toa o
itu ibe pve 4 Vernisned yA Maney , Lhe, b sy ¥ Peace Ghalgrenas,
ee vé Aiehar-ktds, ante '\oollen~ VP BM<tly 6 LO A a x a
poecedl Aayeer) becued Awerleve A feted S Megs yp Ate” fresees- ‘3
Ghamigb gens terpral 2s Hanes of Td bedi” Frew fica eee
ly bey fle tewt tat, ‘ de tharge- F Mes Oat coat K Aid Jreny asec et Aosesioty
Ys Mace: dedjccelide Ie APO ss : te A give sata ae <
at Rem A LA abe low ethers Laden! ae Onli, Fic
nett aes fe foresee Jem eae
wags
ie beast tA wale: |}
when this great show was fim
ticed and it lasted until day,
making for a sleepless night’
thousands of people Men wer
caught out on various
One man was returning hoffe
taking ' cotton to market. Hp
anxious to get home but his@,
tened hestg any wanted t)
and every few hundred f
wagon had to be sto ee sof;
the man could kneel on thig:
and pray, They say thats
were just as frightened ag pi
and even chickens were
however, there were somes
claimed to experience ng {
only enjoyment of the gress
spectacle of all times, ty
more engaged in worldly pleasures,
The taverns had not closed and
drinking and gambling was still
in full swing when the stars began
to fall,
Among the negroes there was
pandemonium, Being emotional
and easily excited, He fell to
the ground screaming and praying,
On large plantations there would
be hundreds lying on the ground,
Their cries were, “Oh, my God,
the world's on fire," It was hard
indeed repent of their sins, A
Methodist minister lived a quarter
of a mile from Fayette, and thence
ward on their horses, they sped.
They arrived at the minister's
home at last where a scene of
great repentence occurred, They
rornised the minister they would
orever forsake card games if his
prayers would save them from de-. to tell which was the most ex=
struction on this horrifying night, —_ citing, the actions of the negroes
With Contrite hearts they kmelt with or the noctemal display of me~
the preacher, After they Hved to teors, Their cries awakened many
see the light of another day they white people, One man rushed to
laughed at their actions on this the door with a drawn sword,
nigh,
on November 13, 1833, with.the
most brillant display of meteors
in the history of the world, It
as a sleepless night fot many Ala~
bamians. ‘Some terrified observers
spent considerable time making
amends with their conscience,
-* One such group consisted of a
pry of young men playing cards
the ph ery court house when
the stars pan to fall, Could
this be the hand of God, chastizing
them for their sins? They began
to run, Their horses were too slow;
rs and, since there was no escaping
the brilliant are | objects, the
young men decided they should
people today who heard
(Con't on
In larger towns there were even It was around eleven o'clock
.
a
wr (ll bilie CCK
Wil. eau,
baie
TARS FELL ON FAYETTE COUNTY
CON"T FROM, PAGE 22. ae.
"sory from Mary Keene, a col-
olf woman of Tuscaloosa, She
declared that she boldly dashed
with an apron spread to catch
f the bright parioles that fell,
some time after the stars
fii there was a réligious revival .
4 repentance oe Rarer
) 1 hose who had stolen horses were _
as were those who had
ed chickens off the roost, ’
Pr.rchers were gratified by the
~ large numbers seeking repentance
tet joining the churches, This
» natural phenomenon served as
an act of God to make men search
»* their soulds, Lorenzo Dow, the
gregation,
gave a little negro y a horn
and directed him to climb a tree,
When the preacher described the |
the Judgement day
7 el ; Ly fl
horn, the little ne: ew a
> blast, This had the desired of ie
fect, until the congregation spi=
ed the Uttle boy up the tree, *
) preachers of the year 1833 could
truly thank thetr lucky stars,
People of that day knew no
more about the heavenly bodies
than had the ancients, Since '
that time scientist have explained
that the earth each year meets
aswarm of meteors called Leon«_
* ids, but only once in e #
ears does the earth enter it e-
panion wanted to pra
hundred yards th
ed to that of the year 1833,
@ meteors travel with such
eat speed as to generate extreme
am causing explosion, . ,
‘We can get some idea of the
F-yconomic coriditions of this per+
od from an old dog-eared account
‘hook in the. court house at Fayette
Of the greatest
to experi
et
times, There art
heard this
(Con't on page 29)
Pe a ye NC ty Mme eee:
Zip Mahe)
fer add, Cung
diy
ly lB Cacuely,
Cau r- Leceyfd xa. AG Hee. J, ecinertesg
& Lat, g of ke
moe Ca ee
M26
won lene. “Livin ltig. a
’ his wife Mary Ann (Kirkland)
- of eight living east of Sipsey, Jes~
4 5
ey
rae eae nn ape | rere
, Mea iffy ge
i Miter tea Kia aF ws be vtec
dies Be.
ARRAS TT a Maa OT hy,
SESQUICENTENNIAL BROADCASTER SEPT, 1969 -
: UY Bac bgt’ ated! del? OP!” hte Ora?
Go
ee ae
SENTEN
dated 1838, No one knows to ;
whom this book belonged, but so
many of the pioneer names of this
section are listed,
It ve ey be interesting to know
something about Fayette County
people at this time, A newly. °
married couple, most Hkely
frightened out of their wi t3,
was William Owens Moore and ©»:
Moore, who had only been mars
tied two months, They lived »
east of Sipsey, Joseph Smith,
thought to be the father of Rich-
ard Allen Smith, was living with
his family west of Luxapelila,
The John M, Northam family was
still in North Carolina, The Rev,
John H, Davis and wife had two
little children, Thomas and
Nancy Ann, The Miles and Bobo
familes were yet in South Caro~
lina, ‘as were some of the Millers |
and Blacks, “The Humbers had
not arrived in Fayette County, ©
Harvey Whitley was a boy of 11 «
years, John R, Kirkland was a) ©
oung married man withtwo *
le girls, Elizabeth and Virgin-
1a, Carson Moore son of William ~
and Elizabeth Moore was a
se Taylor had been in Fayette
in the northwest part of the county,
Anderson Farquhar and wife Leven=
ja Farquhar had two little
* John and James, In the Davia "
Thornton family of the eastern sec
Ph ae? Me ee iy tft, 15000
a
FEA AL
« ‘The ever popular Capt, Wi
» Taylor was fv
~ Oldest bein
Rice, was an
baby.
bottles of castor off for $1, 00,
' County for about a year, settling ©
“firs Lo fete fa
Leta Ad ve
: Veitetiad vs ear A
Be Mair ied welt at KE Ly
Aed feeeoe!, tay tea
(fece ed cerePs hiewsig
tlt CLG.
ade
Ore
bod, Cte)
LOE.
ef
;
oi sake
Atee Aewe Lire, eae
Or a Aeneteo, aeeo”, ean a
6 ce gp ete Sob e Te geeg
Spee Fitie fl “Rey fl
Vadpeecis” OleGe
Ae,
eP Me fiorcat ecely $e
ease
as “H
¢ .
eee’
Ae.
LES
eA
—
ii Sisk ie
Aieatt ade Piaidey DED Lecwsi
ce...
pate CMD
G. Be ils. ae
Bye fest
thony F, Bell had set up seven mile
posts from Berry*’s Gin to the Pick-
ens County line and had been paid
$5, 26 Issac Lan
Ward had recently settled in the
_ Newtonville section, Levi Guin had
been in the County about a year,
am §,
ving in the western
part of the county in the midst of
other Taylor families, one of the
Peter Taylor, William
S. Taylor later served in the Leg-
islature from Fayette County, Reu=
ben Jones, a Revolutionary War
soldier had settled near Hell's
Creek, George May and his fam=
were living in the northern part
il
Pot Fayette County, His wife was
Hannah Henderson whom he had
married in 1819 in Washington
County, Alabama, Jackson White
was a seven month old baby. Ma-
lissa Rice, daughter of Othnell
ght months old
Among things purchased were
linen, s calico and other cloth;
‘ ribbon, ladies’ bonnets, shoes,
stockins; }
~ Trunks, axes, hoes, nails, curry
combs; shot and brimstone; salts
They all seemed to use Godfrees
cordial, ee of tobacco and
whiskey &1. ), coffee beans
and pepper,
The different items sold at
tion of the county, a little daughter,his store are amazing when you
was born during the year 1833, consider most of it would have
beth born during the year, She la+:
ter married Tilmon Baker and
moved to Texas, The Hogan Yerby
family had just settled in their new
log house at Newtonville, He and canned or frozen foods
“Thomas Cates had returned from a’ days,
ont be: sale in Tuscaloosa on
ke me rs
In May of this historic Year An
Eppa
‘ Wen J, Beanyon of Newtonvillewas had to have been brou ght in b
ten months old when the stars fell, .
John White and wife, Jane Ford
White had 4 Uttle daughter, Eliza=
horse back or stage coach on the
Byler Road, j bee ey
“>The men provided the nmeat
‘by hunting and fishing. They —
had'to grown their fruits and
vegetables, as there were no
in those
We do not have many of the
early county records since the
court house burned twice, It
a Nes
dale and Elkanah
' Andrew McCool.
Hitegiucde Ot Cian’
has been said a man ( I won't
call his name) who lived above
Fayette had broken the law,
and hired his Negro slave to
bum the court house so there
would be no record of his crime,
Then we all know the entire
town bumed in 1911,
We have found records of
many murders in this section of
Alabama from around 1850 to
1875, A murder I've_mention-
ed before was that of Mrs,
Elizabeth Yerby Sheperd , mothe
of Jacob and Issac Sheperd, She
was living alone with her Negro
woman slave, age 25, by name
of Phebee, She was sitting on
the door step late in the evening
the chickens, The Negro woman
sip d up behind her and kil-
led her with a butcher knife, Phe-
bee was hanged in Fayette in the
early part of 1850 for the murder
of her mistress,
Mrs, Sheperd and her son Mich-
eal were the first Sheperds buried
in this old Shepherd Cemetery in
front of the Mute Baker Home,
This cemetery was ploughed un-
der and monuments destroyed
“over 60 years ago,
In those days men of wealth
lived in fear of being robbed and
inurdered, George Trawick was
murdered here in 1864, I've men~
tioned his being the richest man
in Newtonville before, but he
also had a big skelton in his closet,
He was worth $60,000,, owned a
store and many acres of land in
Tuscaloosa, Walker and Pickens
counties and about 600 acres just
-north of here that was ori er:
land homesteaded by A, B, an
hey were
ancestors of the present McCools
of this county,
ped Trawick drove his
oxen and wagon to the Carraway
settlement on Bear Creek to
have his corn ground into meal,
and was shot from ambush, The
Following {s the text of thé”
sentence: ita
THE STATE. OF ALABAMA,
Fayette County“To any sherif’ ”
of said county know yea that ¢
a circuit court began and held
at the court house for said co=
unty on the 16th day April 18¢
ha following proceedings wet
ad,
>
THE STATE OF ALA,
,..,. Vs murder
WILLIAM KIRBY
Thursday April 19,1860 =
Now at this day came the
solicitor William E, Earnest
the prosecuter for the state,
as well as the defendant
in his own proper person, as
well as by his counsel the de=
fendant having been heretofor
assigned and charged-upon the
indictment herein, and havin
pleaded not guilty thereto,
thereupon came a jury of goo
and lawful men to wit Wnt,
Jeffers and eleven others who
being elected empanneled
sworn and charged well and
truly to try the issue joined
upon there oaths do say we
the jury find the defendant
po of murder in the first
egree, and that he must
suffer death,
It is therefore considered by
the court that in accordance
with the verdict of the Jury so
rendered, the said defendant
William Kirby be hanged by
the neck until he is dead, ‘it
is further considered appointed
by the court that the sheriff of
Fayette County shall on Friday
the fifteenth day of June, will _
proceed to execute the sentence
and judgement of this court
and conform to the requirements
of Chapter 11, Title 2, Part 4
of the code of Alabama,
Given under my hand at
office this 12th day of June, AD
1860, Arty A, Summers,
Clerk of the Circuit
Court of Fayette, Ca,
Alabama
oxen brought his body home, He
was buried in the old Sheperd
family cemetary in front of the
Mute Baker home,
I want to say a little about the
Gibson and Graviee families,
They were not pioneer settlers
of this community, The Gibsons ae
came from Virginia down to
Anson County, N, C., before
the Revolutionary War, and
lived among the Shepherds, Poe,
Yerby and Guin familities that
later settled here. Among the
Gibsons living in Anson County
in the 1760's were James, Wil=
liam and Walter, This Walter
Gibson and my great-great-great
great grandfather William Yerby
were neighbors there in 1767,
Jacob Gibson, Sr, a descendant
of the North Carolina Gibsons...’
settled in Walker County before
1830, Among his sons were’
Jacob, Jr, and Tillman, bom —
1785, Tillman was living in the ©
Berry area of Fayette County in
1850, and he afd his wife, Sara,
were the ancestors of all the
Newtonville Gibsons.
The Gravlees came from North
Carolina, By 1810 they were ~*
living in Tennessee, and by 1830
were living in Alabama, John
Graviee and his b other, William
settled in Walker County before
1840, where they were farmers, *
William Graviee was bom in, ~
1810, and among his sons was
George Washington Gravlee who
served as a Lieutenant in the
Civil War, About 1865 he came
to Newtonville and married Miss).
Czarina Nall, They reared a
large family, among them Brad-
ley and Leland, Rev, George ©
Washington Gravlee became a
Baptist minister, and was pastor:
of this church for many years,
If the recollections of this
night could be compiled, there ©
is no doubt but that the words
fright, wonder and excitement
would best desert be the feelings
of the people, This spectacular
event made such an impression
on the people that they began
to recon time by the date, Nov,
13, 1833, An event took place
either before or after the" Falling
of the Stars,"
With all the excitement that
attended this, the most unusual
natural phenomenon of all time,
there were none so unfortunate
as those who had to admit that
they had slept through it all,
Roe
eh
pie oe
"BROADCASTER SEPT, 1969
‘Came Fro
VAUDEAN BLACKBURN, LOWERY =
Granddaughter
Great, Great,
189%, was a des
on
‘ust
bacled in the Zion Ceme=
‘ounty, it is North of Bankston
on Highway #13, :
I Eliis and Lau-
orter Ellis lived aH their
lives in the Commnnity near Zion,
Miirtha Ida Ellis
f' he ox-drawn
i *
ied giving — BANKSTON HOTEL
~ the Bankston Hotel,
F, Hollingsw
“of William Blackburn and Martha Middleton, Blackbum, Great, ~~
of James Middleton and Parilee Moore, Middleton, ;
Granddaughter of Sarah Powell
served in the Confederate At
Ma
Ele
“as an Elder of the Zion Metho-
- and Martha Ida Ellis Blackburn
- Blackburn married Floyd Woodard,
picture made July 4,
“First row'from left~+ Mr,
orth, Nora Relford, and Ora. Second row -Mr, *and
Ruby, Mr,:and Mrs, Cleve Smith
(Mrs, Cart Crawford), Altha (Mrs,
_ and Lucy (Mn, Bugene King,
si
SARAH POWELL 1791-1869
Sarah Powell was born in Lau~
rens District, South Carolina on
January 1, 1791, She married
Ruben Powell from Culpepper
County, Virginia on January 24,
1809, They had eleven child
ren, ten of whom were born in
South Carolina, The youngest,
Sarah Narcissus, was born on
March 14, 1831 in Fayette Coun
ty, Alabama, They had moved
to Fayette County, Alabama
about 1830 and located around
five or six miles north of |
Fayette, Sarah is buried in Ol
Zion Comegetys four miles north
of Bankston, Sarah Powell is
the great grandmother of Mrs,
Theron Cannon and Mr, Frank
Jones of Berry, Alabama, ~
BAUR
Wm, Banks Lowery and Vaudean
Blackburn Lowery had two daugh=
ters, Martha Ann and Carol
Lowery Cargile, Vaudean Black-
* burn, Lowery died November 7,
“1967, and she {s buried in the
’ Oakwood Memorial Cemetery in
Fayette, :
Age 4 years, Granddaughter
as a Private, he was discharged -
from Company E 26th Alabama
Volunteers in Richmond, Virginia,
19 1862, William Asberty ©
and Lutischa Porter, Ellis,
were buried in the Zion Cemet~
ery, where he had on ce served
dist Church, :
William Augustine Blackburn ©
had three children, The daughters
were Vaudean and Pauline and
the son was William, Pauline
a descendant of the Woodard and
Phillip families who settled in
the northeastern section of Fay~
ette County in the Killingsworth _
Community, Pauline Blackburn
Woodard and Floyd Woodard had
two children, Jimmy Clark and —
Linda Jane, William Blackbum
married Lennie Fowler, @ desc~
endent of the Fowlers in the Bluff
Community in stad County.
They had a son, Damy. Vaudean
There are, or have been hun--
dreds of descendents from the
Middletons in this county, Al- .
Blackburn married Wm, Banks most every family here two or
Lowery, The son of William Gal more generations is connected
" veston "Gal" Lowery, a well in some way through the Middle-
* known auctioneer and farmer of tons,
the Ford’s Mountain Community,
=
1906, The fami{t
and Mrs, Bus
ollingsworth and Fletcher, Mr, an
and Eunice, Third row-Mr, and Mrs, Jatide Smith, Standing-
Chariie, King), Bama (Mri, G,.As Thompson), Yelme (Mr,
j
to use her
“> eight
of Mr. and Mrs, Jackie Smtih, proprietor of
Mrs, N,
. Rellie Smith, Melious, srt and
vie
Jep Woods)
AT est IW ee ens Pe
“BAYRTTR COUNTY, ALABAMA,
m England In 17th Century
PAULINE BLACKBURN, who
cared oe about her heritage,
me to search for,
and compile a part of the matter
that has been used in this article
about the Middletons, Blackburns,
Powells, and Ellis families, and
their contribution toward the his-
tory of Fayette County,
Two Lynched Near
Bankston 100 Years Ago
BY: MRS, W, A, CARAWAY
For more than a hundred years
a flat rock has marked the grave
of William Barzilla Dobbs who
was hanged by a group of men
Steguised as iu Kiux lan mem-
to Bill Dobbs,
bers, Ansering
his grandson, the group was be~
lieved to be a member of Nor
thern sympathizers who sought
an elderly man whose name was
believed to be Dobbins, Dobbins,
along with another soldier na~
med Belton, had deserted the
army and headed into North
America,
Despite his pleas of innocent,
William Dobbs, fifty years old
at that time, was 09, obordi
the hooded group and carri
into the woods, There he and
another man, believed to be
Belton, were hanged and left
hanging from a tree, Bill Dobbs"
father, then in his ny teens
and the rest of the family came
and cut down the two men, They
buried their father and Belton
near the hanging tree and mark-
ed the Dobbs grave with a large
flat rock,
William Dobbs was born on
June 4, 1814, and died onApril
5, 1864, a year before the end
of the War between the States,
He left eight children,
Bill Dobbs, named after his
andfather, has been telling
~ the story for most of his lifetime
as it was told to him by his fa-
ther who helped bury the vic-
tims,
The grave site is located
: les north of Bankston on
the Fayette - Carbon Hill high-
: te bs 11 Dobbs, now 90 years
old, lived most of his life on
akfarm near the
ave site,
R cently he and his wife, have
_- taoved to Fayette,
In recent months R, W. Gray
and his daughter, Mrs, Bernard
(Christine: Schalk, have clean
ed the area around the grave
and another grandson has placed
_.a marble tombstone to mark
* the final resting place of an in-
nocent man killed in the hys-
» teria of war,
Ls
— atop the grave of his
al
and
WILLIAM ( Bill) DOBBS, Fayette
ther who was hanged durin
the Civil War in Fayette County, 7
"BY MRS, B, A, SULLIVAN
~~ I want to tell you a true story
-abaut a Carolina family's migrat-
ion to Fayette County, Alabama
and the conditions they found when
they arrived in 1831.
~ In 1817, a baby boy was born
in Laurens County, South Carolina,
“His earliest recollections were
ee oun the open fire place
at night eee bing to the older
a
members of the family talk, be-
Carolis
no furniture o
kindly old gen:
4 full outfit of
auger and draw
her how to ma!
stead with gon
few boards, he
one Jeg in eac!
bin and placed
this, =
If people we
to have feather
the straw mattr
cause, at that time, this was about pretty good bed
" their evening meal.
>*- Most people had Bibles and a lot
_ of them had family prayers, but
“no one was bored with life as
“some claim to be today,
This young man said for a good
} sig | years theruling topic around
_ the fireplace was Alabama, Be-
cause of the enthusiastic accounts
. of the great state they kept re-
- ceiving from from friends and
relatives who had moved on to
this far-away Eldorado, His par-
ents often safd, "Oh! --If we were
all in Alabama!"
* But, how to get there? The
family was large, and it was
‘ ogo 500 miles away, through
_ the virgin forest, over hills and
rivers--but, worse than all, it
was through "Injun" Country,
Re
ry
i
{
he
i
‘
“Through some misfortune they
lost their land, Negroes, house=
hold goods, stock ~ everything
) . «they owned, A few weeks after
~~ these sad events, a large family
«with what little plunder they had
saved from the wreckage of their |
lives found itself on their way to
Alabama, A kindly friend agreed
to move them in his two-horse
‘wagon,
They left South Carolina about
¥
the rain, sleet and snow, and rough
roads, They cut smail trees in
‘lengths the width of the road and
placed them close te wie so
they could pass over the deep mud
and shallow water,
Bess ‘hye was the first town they
_ sawin Alabama.
- saw the first stage coach the
‘had ever seen, It was a big sight
to see one man Iwiding the reign
of four horses, and the driver
cracking his whip at ever jump,
~ Elyton later became Birming-
ham, Alabama, It happens to be
the section in which I live, Our
deed dates back to 1818, This
was originally 400 acres
which is now includes one of Bir-
mingham's most beautiful tourist
attractions, It is a lovely old
antebellum home with stately ©
» columns cope to the second
floor, “Built in 1840, it has been
redone and fumished to fit that
ees and is called Arlington,
iison"s raiders camped here dur-
‘the Civil War,
the middie of January and arrived Plent
in Alabama the last of February, in rb.
taking about six weeks to make _ in summey,
this long, talked-of trip, Through very profits
bird ¢' 4
It was there they with
ing,
the only past time children had afterin those days,)
ed geese for th
Speaking of}
led in the early
Poe, ancestor o
here, was old,
left North Caro
- Simon Poe ford
bama about 1g9
sick to sit upet
bed in the Gee
version Would},
His great-great.
ter has this ofg,
attic ath po
Arkansas, ©
area, ft
to
@y took the tongue and
> bet the wagon tad floated
@ Warrior River in the
oa bed, Probably all wagon
re nade water tight for
oto in those days, But, *
mith crossed on a bridge
| thriving town of North~"
‘ich was then called Kentuc
Watt Gspy, dre
Box 2)17
Headland, Ala, 363)\5
13 Jamarv 1975,
Dear lfrs. Duncan:
I am engaged in research on Capital Punishment in the United States which I hope to
, culminate with a work which will contain a urief biosriphical sketch of each person
vo have been legally executed in the United “tates as well as al
a brief account of
the crimes for which eech died.
I have just noted that in the took written by you and ir. berry Joe Saith, The
HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY 9 ALABAMA 9 ZOU me ntion threes pers ons who were hange d
in “larshall County: (1)Jacob Keener, hanged oh Nov. 1, 1867; (2)A. 3. Parris who
was hanged for killing Jim Roses and (3) Sob Watts, hanged on ‘nril 25, 1907.
Do you by any chance know the day that Mr, Par-is was hanged? Also, do you by
any chance know if there were ever any other legal hangings in Marshall County
besides these three? If so, I would appreciate having the names and the gates of
executions. With this in6ormation, I will hopefully he able to dig wp some old
newspaper accounts of the crimes, trials and executions as I shall endeavor to
on the Xeener and Watts cases.
-‘nelosed is ten cents postage for your convenience in replying. If you cannot help
me, perhaps you could provide me with the name and address of someone who might be
able to do so. You will, of course, be given credit in the work itself for any
assistance rendered.
Thanking you for your kindness and yvorr cooperation and with best wishes for a
Healthy, Happy and Prosperous O27 Sy 1 Sit,
tespectfully yours,
Mrs, Katharine Mciinstry Duncan
: Guntersville, Alabama.
punt, the bono A, joes Sandhy Caine lb Lewy -
Ys tn hy plo af Adretein tea apie Row -
Chapter XXIII
The Circuzt
I well realized I had taken a rather long
stride in beginning the practice of law in 1908 and being
elected solicitor in 1910 over such a seasoned and ex-
cellent prosecutor as Mr. Gray. The realization of my
good fortune made me humble. I did not have the
slightest feeling of resentment against my old friend,
Mr. James K. Kyser, and other strong supporters of Mr.
Gray. Instead, I hoped to dispel their doubts by being as
vigorous and fair as I knew how.
My active duties as solicitor began at Butler, in
Mr. Gray’s home county of Choctaw, during the latter
part of March 1911. I went to Butler by way of the river
steamer “Hard Cash” under the command of Captain
George W. Quarles. Landing at Tuscahoma on the
Tombigbee River, I was driven in a hack eight miles
through Mt. Sterling, and on to Butler, the county seat.
All my traveling at first was by boat, or horse-drawn
conveyances, or short line railroads. But the sheriff of
Monroe County, my cousin Blanchard Stallworth, in that
To Inquiring Friends
If Any
5
wv
2
S
:
e
:
_ Autobiography of
John McDuffie
Farmer, Lawyer, Legislator, Judge
as told to and edited by
Mary Margaret Flock
Azalea City Printers, e Mobile, Alabama
18 THE ALABAMA REVIEW™
‘but the public records do not indicate that any of the
“raiders” were ever apprehended.*
Price’s saloon was also the planning site of the “cele-
brated circus raid.” While indulging in Price’s wares, Jim
Roundtree, a leader of the “boys;” informed his fellow
revelers that a traveling circus had that day come to town
and that the wagons, loaded with “wild animals,” were
parked for the night on the edge of a deep ravine awaiting
the performances for the following day. While describing
the merits of each animal, one inebriated young man
suddenly announced that he was “becoming as drunk asa
badger,” which brought about the provocative question of
“how drunk can a badger become?” To settle this biologi-
cal question, the crowd decided to discover an answer ina
scientific manner.
With a jug of whiskey they proceeded to the circus
wagons to pursue an answer to their question, but, to their
consternation, the circus owners would not cooperate. In
the fight that ensued the wagons were pushed into the
ravine, breaking the cages and allowing the animals to
escape into the streets of Marion. It is said that on the
following day few of the inhabitants of the town ventured
from their homes until all of the animals had been cap-
tured by the circus employees. And in their frolic the
“boys” discovered “that a badger, when intoxicated would
act like any ‘human beast’ in the same condition.”
Public drunkenness aroused the citizenry of Marion
during this early frontier period, and whenever a drun-
ken individual became too boisterous during the day,
while women and children were on the streets, vigilant
men would apprehend the culprit and carry him to Mof-
4 Tbid., March 26, 1909.
13 W. Stuart Harris, A Short History of Marion, Perry County, Alabama: Its Homes and Its
Buildings (Marion, 1970), 3; Townes, “History of Marion,” 195-99; Marion Standard,
February 19, 1909.
ot
ANUARY 1980 19
ole containing three feet of mud and water. If the drunk
tempted to escape from the clayhole, he was caught and
rown in again until he came out sober. On one occasion
e brother of one of the town’s leading citizens was taken
to the hole and thrown in. Finally becoming somewhat
bered, he stood up in the mud and shouted, “Hurrah
r America!” Marion historian W. L. Fagan stated that
this patriotic sentiment pleased the boys, and so awak-
ened their sympathies, that, fishing him out of the clay-
ole, they wiped the mud out of his eyes, and carried him
o the grocery and succeeded in making him as drunk as
he was before his ducking.””®
Horseplay often erupted into acts of physical violence.
In 1827 a group of the “boys” were loitering in the streets
‘of Marion, when a young man named Austin decided to
~ play a joke on a planter by the name of Payne by tying a
brush on the tail of Payne’s horse. Unfortunately for
Austin, Payne’s overseer, one Logan, saw the act. Seizing
Austin by the collar, Logan gave him a “whipping” on the
Spot in front of a large crowd of citizens.'7 On another
occasion a group of playful “boys” had assembled on the
fourth of July at a store in the village of Radfordsville.
James Saffold entered the store to purchase some tobacco,
“and while standing with his back toward Tully S. Bolling,
the said Bolling made an assault upon him & in the affray
bit off a piece of his right ear.” |
Severe Beat, a rural community on the Cahaba River a
few miles east of Marion, was a particularly troublesome
area to lawmen during the frontier period. Here was
. Marion Standard, April 23, 1909.
mers of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Alabama, Embracing the
ens Made in the Years 1827 and 1828 (Tuscaloosa, 1830).
_ Original undated document, in possession of the author.
(tie ht ata nc ra Lt aa Lin Sh ha Tai i a a
v
20 ° THE ALABAMA REVIEW
- located William Ford’s gristmill, which contained a one-
room grocery constructed of logs where whiskey could be
purchased. The grocery was a gathering place for the
“boys” living in that area. |
One morning in 1830 a deputy sheriff was sent from
Marion with a writ to serve on a citizen in the Severe Beat.
When the deputy arrived at Ford’s, he found, much to his
dismay, a crowd of “boys,” who were “shooting for beef”
and drinking whiskey. Attempting to serve the writ, the
deputy was seized by the crowd and imprisoned in a space
under the floor of the grocery, a space only one and a half
feet from the floor to the ground. He was informed that
he would be released only if he promised to carry the writ
back to Marion and to swear that he would never again
cross the Cahaba in an official capacity.
Supplying the captive with a generous allotment o
whiskey, Red Fox, a noted pugilist of the region and a
leader of the “boys,” was told to guard the tiny enclosure,
a task that he performed for forty-eight hours; however, |
finally surrendering to hunger, Fox gorged himself with
salted mackerel from a barrel and “rot-gut” whiskey. “In
due time the mackerel arrested” Fox’s “attention by sun-
dry gripes in the lower part of his stomach and poor Fox
was prone on the floor suffering all the unutterable an-
guish incident of cramp colic.”"
The “boys,” who had been conducting a shooting match
for prizes of beef, rushed in, circled around their friend,
laughing at his distress, and danced and yelled, while Fox
screamed, “Damn the mac-aralites! Oh! Lord forgive us,
but damn the mac-aralites!” The newspaper recounted
that “fortunately for Fox he emptied the contents of his
stomach through a crack in the floor, but unfortunately
for the deputy, he received about a quart of whiskey and
1° \farion Standard, March 26, 1909.
UARY 1980 | 91
aralites about the waistband of his pants. Suffocated
‘with dust, crazed with the Bacchanalian reel above his
ead, the advent of the ‘mac-aralites’ quickly decided the
eputy to yield, and he promised never to attempt to serve
nother writ in Severe Beat.””°
Occasionally, during the frontier period, atrocious
rimes were committed within the boundaries of Perry
ounty, episodes not akin to the comic sprees related
; above. Perhaps the most horrible of these occurred in July
1827 near the northeastern border of the county. A
newspaper reported that
oe
ieee
aMr. McNeily having lost some clothing or some other property of no
great value, charged a slave belonging to a neighboring planter with
the theft. McNeily, in company with his brother, found the negro
driving his master’s wagon; they seized him, and either did, or were
about to chastise him, when the negro stabbed McNeily, so that he
died in an hour afterwards—the negro was taken before a Justice of
the Peace, who after serious deliberation waved his authority—per-
haps thro’ fear, as the crowd of persons had collected to the number
of 70 or 80, near Mr. People’s [the justice] house, who acted as
president of the mob, and put the vote, when it was decided that he
should be immediately executed by being burnt to death! The sable
culprit was led to a tree and tied: to it, and a large quantity of pine
knots collected and placed around him, and the fatal torch was
applied to the pile, even against the remonstrance of several gentle-
men who were present, and the miserable being was in a short time
burnt to ashes. An inquest was held over the remains and the sheriff
of Perry County, with a company of about 20 men, repaired to the
neighborhood where this barbarous act took place to secure those
concerned, but with what success we have not heard.?!
On August 18, 1840 a slave named Harry, the property
of Joseph Wiley, “did makee [sic] an atempt [sic] to ravish
and carnaly [sic] know” a white girl named Rebecca
Harris. The crime was reported to a justice of the peace,
" Ibid.
: Tuscaloosa Chronicle, July 30, 1827.
22 | - THE ALABAMA REVIEW
and Sheriff David Chandler soon arrested and jailed
Harry. The slave was tried on August 31, was found
guilty, and was executed. Before his execution the jury
assessed his value at $1,108.33, thus paying Wiley one-half
of this amount to compensate for his loss.” |
On November 23, 1842, only two years after Harry was
executed for “attempted rape,” a coroner’s inquest was
held over the body of Isabel, a female slave belonging to
William H. Jones. The coroner’s report stated that the
victim “came to her death by violence, and from every
- circumstance & the evidence that has come to our knowl-
edge are unanimously of opinion that the said marks of
violence found upon the body of the deceased were
inflicted by William H. Jones.”**
At the trial conducted in the Perry County courthouse
William M. Brooks served as the prosecutor and charged
that Jones “feloniously, wilfully and of his malice afore-
though [sic], an assault did make on the said Isabel, and
did feloniously, cruelly, barbarously, and inhumanly beat
and whip, of which said beating and whiping [sic] the said
Isabel died.” The jury found Jones guilty as charged and
sentenced him to the penitentiary for ten years. Jones
appealed this ruling to the state court, which affirmed the
lower court’s decision.”*
Perry County, like a number of other counties within
the state, had only a sheriff and a deputy to see that the
laws were observed, and therefore “Captain Slick Com-
panies,” or vigilance committees, were often used to give
22 Unlabled miscellaneous papers, Circuit Clerk’s Office, Perry County Courthouse,
Marion; Alabama law stated that “every slave or free negro who commits, or attempts to
commit, a rape on any white female, must, on conviction, suffer death.” Code of Alabama
(Montgomery, 1852), 594.
23 Affidavit, signed by members of Coroner's Inquest, November 25, 1842, in pos-
session of author.
* Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Alabama (Montgomery,
1844), V, 666-74.
“English traveler stated that “in an extensive district of
_country, where the expense of a police establishment
~ cannot be borne by a few inhabitants, scattered at consid-
“erable distances from each other, no better scheme...
~can be devised.”**
January 1980 23
d in law enforcement. Of this form of protection, an
Pg
A “Captain Slick Company” was organized in Marion by
~ Sheriff David Chandler, who was elected to his position in
1834. These volunteers were responsible for such acttvi-
__ ties as the clayhole episodes related earlier. As a deterrent
_to future crimes Sheriff Chandler devised another prac-
“tice known as “Chandler’s Coach,” described by a local
Marion historian:
3 “These coaches were large hogsheads, such as were used in shipping
: crockery, with a movable head in one end, through which the passen-
"ger was received. Pegs were driven through the sides, to which the
“occupant might hold when enjoying his ride. If the objectionable
character lived east of Marion the coach was brought up before Gaius
Johnson’s store and the offender headed up, and rolled to the stable;
then required to walk back to the starting point, and given another
ride, and.as many as the crowd thought his wickedness deserved.
_* This progressive, gyratory motion of the “coach” being unlike other
vehicles, and which motion science has since demonstrated as charac-
teristic of tornadoes, almost instantly sobered the most confirmed
drunkard. An inebriate, too full to stand without assistance, was
placed in the “coach” and treated to a free ride. Reaching the bottom ~
of the hill, he was brought back and loaded up for a second trip, when
about to start he cried out: “Hold on boys, until I get fixed.” Bending
himself like a hoop to the inside of the coach, he exclaimed: “Go
ahead boys, I’m ready,” and he would arrive at the bottom sober and
safely.?° ?
If early Perry Countians were affluent, this status was
not evident in their dress or their morals. A witness at the
® Jack K. Williams, “Crime and Punishment in Alabama, 1819-1840,” Alabama Review,
vi (January 1953), 27.
“ Marion Standard, April 23, 1909.
fs ee
Pew
hp
24 : THE ALABAMA REVIEW
annual Baptist association meeting held at Hopewell
Church in 1832, a wealthy planting region in the western
section of the county, related that only three members
were dressed in broadcloth and that only one member
arrived in a buggy.?” One observer noted in 1844:
Our churches furnish the usual number of hypocrits [sic] and evil
doers, who cheat their own souls, and bring reproach upon the holy
name they desecrate, by the unholy practices. We have also observed a
tendency with many of our professors of religion to “righteousness
over much,” and that their piety is more apt to be periodical than
errenial. During the sickly season of August to October frost, it is
noticeable that many of the pious who have their lamps filled with oil,
and “ascension robes,” starched and laid aside for any emergency,
cast away both lamps and robes’so soon as we have a white frost, the
rivers rise, and cotton reaches the market.”
Eventually, Perry County, like other counties in Ala-
bama, outgrew its youth as a violent and crude frontier
and matured into a more gracious antebellum society. But
the rowdy decades of Perry County's history remain one
of the area’s most interesting periods.
27 Ibid., April 9, 1909.
28 Townes, “History of Marion,” 200.
‘tory of Alabama concerns the mining of saltpetre in
Alabama Caves
RICHARD C. SHERIDAN
nestone caves during the War of 1812 and the Civil War.
_The accumulation of saltpetre in caves is not well under-
3 stood, but it may possibly result from the action of nitro-
“gen-fixing bacteria. Deposits of bat guano are frequently
Important sources of cave nitrates, but nitrates occur in|
=
many caves where no bats have lived. Furthermore, the
Teached dirt is said to “regenerate” its nitre content if left
in the cave for two or three years.' Saltpetre is an essential
ingredient in the production of black gunpowder, along
with sulphur and charcoal. :
“In colonial and antebellum times most of America’s
saltpetre was imported from India. When blockades or
embargoes cut off this supply, it became necessary to find
a domestic source of this strategic material. The existence
of saltpetre in caves had been known for many years, and
some was obtained from Virginia caves during the Revo-
lutionary War. Early settlers in Kentucky and Tennessee
frequently extracted saltpetre from caves. Later, during
the War of 1812 Mammoth Cave in Kentucky was the site
of extensive mining, and visitors to that cave may still see
the vats, pipes, and hoppers that were used by those early
miners.”
sors, 170 read at the meeting of the Alabama Historical Association in Troy,
urton Faust, “The Formation of Saltpetre i ee”. Now ; a
Bulletin, XI (November 1949), 17. patos tn Canes, Namal Siar poe
se Leo. Salipete Mining in Mammoth Cave, Ky. (n.p., 1967); Ralph Nelson
, 989) pea - Caves of Kentucky, Journal of Chemical Education, 1X (November
Chemical neal x Ziemke, “Early Methods of Saltpetre Production,” Journal of
~—_ , XXIX (September 1952), 466.
-
sees, ISSN 0002-4341/80/010025 + 10/$00.95/1
VOLUME FIFTEEN—1953 4093
native land should descend through the oldest son of the succeeding gen-
erations bearing the name of Warner. It is now in the possession of Mr.
Warner P. Kenon, Jr., of Salem, and it is known to be over two hundred
years old. It is of about fifteen gallons capacity and bears the marks of
service, having a hole burnt in the side about three inches below the
rim. The legs also are burned nearly smooth with the body. It is now in
the keeping of the fifth generation.
While on the subject of family relics, I will notice in this place what
should have appeared in a preceding chapter, but was inadvertently
omited by the oversight of a TIMES compositer:
There is in the keeping of Mr. James M. Davis, near Smith’s Sta-
tion, an article of domestic use supposed to be one hundred and fifty years
old, and has been handed down thro’ four generations on the mother’s
side, and was the property of Mr. Davis’ great-grand-mother. How many
generations prior to that, it has passed through, is not known. This relec
is a spice, pepper and coffee mill, and has this inscription moulded over a
copper plate: “George Slater Coffee Mill. Much Improved. Honi soil y
maly pense. Warranted.” This ancient coffee mill grinds coffee for the
fourth generation of the family about as well as the late improved patents
and is likely to do good service for many generations to come.
Dr. Kenon’s sons, representing the name in Lee county, have married
as follows:
W. P. Kenon married Miss Maggie Corcoran, of Lee county, Robert
L. Kenon married Miss Lula Thornton, of Lee county, Franklin P. Ken-
on marriéd Miss Mollie Payne of Lee county—three sons, all happily mar-
ried, settled down in life and prospering, with rising young families
growing up around them, indicating that honored name is not likely to
become extinct.
W. P. Kenon, the eldest, has reached a degree of prosperity seldom
attained at his age—scarcely forty—and through honorable and legitimate
channels of enterprise and trade. It cannot be said that a “dirty” dollar
sticks to his fingers.
My ever willing reader will now please follow me back to near the
banks of the Chattahoochee river, where we will finish this short chap-
ter. Early in the settlement of the county there appeared among the pio-
1
Fae a
he pee PTR,
sits eerwcane iam
Da # ene. ay,
fares 4
ee:
Sree EE ts. Gala Min niet Miia
TATU aes we eer
tag PA etree NM RY. SF back 1
Re nal te he temBW pp, Eavitindse ,
Sitcstin’ > onkcamianaginlbh ster Mink ding cain a yan! ipa te dicda gent ae
‘ = te aR on Rey weak
sates Yn deypligeagre
ea Wie
%,
tee pagan
hy \
Ci BREN BSE SN SO Es
ead 56 oe «cso, saa ae
Adee we de ia ; *
Sty i pega. aN
5 ATO RR es
PA Ba :
Sty
a a a
446 ALABAMA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
then known as Crocketsville, three miles west of the Uchee turnpike and
twelve miles from Girard. It was finished in 1842, and the jail was ready
for use soon after. Both these buildings are still standing. During the
fifties the jail was pronounced insecure by the Commissioners’ court, and
a new one was built across the street, south of the courthouse.
The first circuit court ever held in Crocketsville was in a tenement
house, still standing, on the premises of Mr. Robert P. Baldwin, in 1841.
During that year James Grimes was convicted and séntenced to be hanged
for the murder of Bush Crowder. This was done by the last court that
was held in Girard. The condemmed man was brought to Crocketsville,
and he was the first person hanged in that place. The circumstance of this
case were peculiar and created sympathy for Grimes. He had just com-
pleted a term in the Georgia penitentiary for a crime of which he claimed
he was innocent, and the scales of justice were turned against him by
the weight of the evidence given by a witness who, Grimes asserted, had
maliciously testified falsely. This conviction so completely demoralized
Grimes that he resolved to kill the witness if he ever met him and so ex-
pressed himself, which was proved on the trial. Shortly after the expira-
tion of his penal term he met Mr. Bush Crowder in Mr. Cox's store in
Girard, and supposing him to be the man who had testified against him,
cut him to death without warning. Mr. Crowther was not the man, and
Grimes had, through mistake, killed one who had never done him an in-
jury, real or fancied, and against whom he cherished no enmity. Under
the circumstances the jury could not ignore the fact that murder was in
the man’s heart and that murder was the result of the act. Under similar
circumstances he might make a similar mistake. This, the first extreme
penalty ever executed by the arm of the law in Crocketsville, was the most
public of any had there since. The courthouse was then in process of
erection. The scaffold was erected on the northeast corner of the public
square, just across the street from the hotel. The late Hon. B. H. Baker
was acting sheriff and sprung the fatal trap. The hanging was witnessed
by a vast concourse of people.
The first house ever built in Crocketsville for any purpose was by
Mr. Jerry Segar, whose father, Mr. John Segar, was one of the earliest
settlers in that vicinity and lived about two miles from the town, on the
road leading west, and for many years kept a respectable house of enter-
tainment for travellers. The family name is not represented in the county
at this date, as far as is known to the writer. His daughter, Mrs. Wash
Sewell, emigrated to the west after the death of her husband, as did also
VOLUME FIFTEEN—1953 401
ordered to “double-quick.” As they advanced, they met Maj. Jernigan re-
tiring, the Indians being too strong for him. On meeting re-inforcements,
the Major turned back and on reaching the battle ground, found one man
killed and several wounded, but no Indians. The sign indicated that sev-
eral Indians had been killed and carried off. One of Jernigan’s wounded
men died the next day. Being ordered to pursue the Indians, Dr. Kenon
tells a good joke just here at the expense of his Primitive Baptist friends.
The night before, in anticipation of a fight the next day, they were con-
sulting as to how they should best protect themselves against the Indian
mode of warfare. Some suggested that it would be best to get behind a
tree, as that was a way the Indians had. The Primitive said that was
foolishness, for if they were going to be killed, they would be killed any-
how, tree or no tree, and it was no use to try to avoid their fate. The
Doctor, though no professor, said that would not suit him and if necessity
required, he would hunt a tree. The next day, sure enough, at Eachaway-
notchaway creek, the fight opened, and the Primitives ran for the biggest
trees on the battle field, and when the Doctor went to hunt his tree to
shield him from the Indian bullets, lo, he found a Primitive Baptist
“schrouched” behind all the large ones, leaving only a slim sapling be-
tween him and the foe!
CHAPTER XXXV.
Mr. Kenon (concluded) — Family Relics — Samuel Andrews —
John Haygood Frazer.
The Indians retreated and the troops pursued, overtaking many
children abandoned by their parents to whatever fate might befall them.
The mouths of the little pappooses were filled with moss and dry grass,
placed there to prevent them from crying, and thereby preventing them
from betraying their whereabouts. The point where the Indians made a
stand was peculiarly adapted to their mode of warfare. The cane was high
and thick. The foe could hide and pop away at their pursuers without
being seen. Tom Carr, a friendly Indian chief and brother of Paddy
Carr, would climb a tree and discover the whereabout of the Indians and
by moving his hand, direct the soliders what direction to pursue them
successfully. By this means they were finally driven out of the swamp,
which was about four miles wide at that point, being near the junction of
two large creeks.
ae tT cael
CM a APO oe
ad Oph yi eh de te oak RIBS, ey
f
wey
*
Bat
oe 4 > -
gue 4oes Bem
ey TS eo NR es
FE Ra see NE
eee ren eeercerreter var erher fren g we even
ne ae eat inc m ns rea Aaa cs 9
ered
Shee yr a oe eis Ma energy
ar Yet rere
be?
Pra HAM
2
7
CE RAGIN FINED RR aR
s
ti
& t
mh.
3
Pe
*
oe
Se eae
Sos
eet ect: ee Cae
sy ON a aye ale
a a tes le
ALABAMA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Capt. Brown's company remained in the vicinity of the Eachaway-
notchaway battle-ground ten or twelve days, and as the Indians were
making their way to Florida, and as the troops were short of supplies,
they returned to Columbus and were soon after discharged, the war being
virtually ended.
Mr. Blake Thomas was a member of this company and in this cam-
paign. This was a cavalry company. and were paid $20.00 per month, the
trooper furnishing his own horse and forage. The Infantry were paid
$11.00 per month. On the morning that the Sheriff, Geo. W. Elliott,
brought in the young Indian who killed Joe Marshall, to Girard, Dr.
Kenon was there and remembers a conversation between the prisoner
and the Sheriff:
“Are you going to kill Indian now?”
“Oh, no.”
“Well; you no kill Indian now, give Indian something to eat.”
He was known among the whites by the name of Josiah, but his
Indian name was Eas-ko. He appeared to be as sorry for having killed
Marshall as an Indian could be for killing anybody and claimed that it
was a mistake on his part. According to the prisoner's version of the af-
fair, he had a difficulty with another Indian a short time before and had
resolved to kill him. With this object in view, he posted himself on the
road where he expected his enemy to pass, waylay and shoot him. His
intended victim did not put in an eppearance. About sunset, Joe Marshall
came riding along the road and Josiah thinking it was his man, shot and
killed him. Josiah was a young man raised by Marshall and it is said that
the pcor fellow appeared to regret killing his friend more than any one
else. He was hanged for the crime in Girard, and was among the first
public executions in the county. As stated in a former chapter, the stump
of the tree under which this murder was committed still stands at the
corner of Mr. Henry Gibson’s field near Smith’s Station.
Since entering upon the work of this history, many keep-sakes, heir-
looms and family souvenirs have come under my observation, not the
least noticeable is a venerable wash pot which has been in this family
many generations. It was brought over from Wales by the founder of the
American stock. At his death, he expressed a wish that this relic of his
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted